114 



From the notes received regarding- the parasitic mode of life of the 

 larva as well as from a study of the larva and the puparium which had 

 been communicated to him, Rondani recognized the parasite as a Tach- 

 inid and undertook to erect for the same a new genus, TJgimyia (fi'om 

 the popular name of the parasite " Uj'P^).* 



Soon afterward. Professor Cornalia received the fly of which he fur- 

 nished a description — ^but an unsatisfactory one — intrciucing the species 

 under the name of Ugimyia sericarkv Rond. (1. c, p. 223).t 



In spite of the insuflficient character of his description of the fly^ 

 Cornalia will have to be cited as the author of the species; for in the 

 previously published note by Guerin Meneville (Comptes Rendus de 

 I'Ac. d. Sciences, Paris, April 18, 1870, j). 841) there is a new name for 

 the parasite, viz, Tachina oudji, but certainly no description whatever. | 



Several other articles by different authors have been published on 

 this parasite, § which is called Uji in its native home, but a correct inter- 



* The larvae of the Tachinidae are by no means so fully known that upon this stage 

 alone a new genus could be established. 



t To give an example of the character of this description I quote the following : 

 " Le ali sono due. II margine anteriore o costa e grosso, con delle dentellature. 

 <5uesto margine e luugheggiato da una nervatura sottomarginale. DalF angolo poi 

 partono 6 altre radiate che vanno assottigliandosi al margine libero posteriore. 

 Questo in vicinanza all' inserzione presenta la smarginatura e il lobo, notto sotto il 

 nome di cucchiaio. Al di dietro di esso havvi una traccia di bilanciere." The 

 figures of the imago given by Professor Cornalia also prove the want of correct ob- 

 servation (1. c, tav. Ill, Figs. 14-22) ; they are all quite poor and incorrect. In Fig. 

 14 (dorsal view of the fly) the general form is well represented, but the legs are al- 

 together too thin, the wings show a venation running in arbitrary directions, and, 

 also, there is nothing of a correct pubescence to be seen in the figure. The head 

 from above (Fig. 15) is a very queer figure ; the frontal bristles are arbitrarily drawn 

 and resemble a wooden set net. Fig. 16 (head from the side) is entirely wrong- 

 no bristles whatever. Fig. 14 represents the male, judging from the long claws, still 

 the front is in the drawing broader than the eye. Professor Meinert, likewise, finds 

 fault with the illustrations (cf. Entom. Meddelels, Kopenhagen, 1890, ii, p. 162, line 

 5 from bottom). 



t Since the Comptes Rendus are not readily accessible I quote the above note ver- 

 batim: "M. Guerin Meneville adresse des observations sur la nature de I'uji ou 

 oudji, insecte parasite qui a fait 6prouA'er recemment une diminution notable a la pro- 

 duction des graiues de vers a sole au Japon. Les observations faites recemment par 

 M. Adams, Secret, d. 1. legation d'Angleterre au Japou, qui a pu voir a la fois le 

 ver, la chrysalide et lamouche al'etat parfait, et qui a publiedes figures de I'insecte 

 k ces trois 6tats font voir que I'oudji est uu diptere, comme la mouche chinoise sig- 

 nal^e par M. Castellani et comme la mouche fran^aise qui a si facilement adopts le 

 ver a soie de I'ailaute. II propose de lui donner le nom de Tachina oudji. " 



§ The bibliographical references are found in the following articles by Dr. Meinert : 

 "How does the Ugimyia larva imbed itself in the Silkworm?" (Ann. and Mag. Nat. 

 Hist., London, 1890, pp. 103-104), and "Ugimyia Larven og dens Leie i Silkeormen" 

 (Entom. Meddel., 1890, ii Bd., pp. 162-163). For the sake of completeness I cite 

 here the note by Guerin, mentioned in Corualia's article (1. c.) in R^vue Uni- 

 verselle de s6riculture, No. 3, April 1870; also the notes by Bigot (Bui. Soc. Entom. 

 France, 1888, p. xxxix; by Riley [and Howard] (Insect Life, 1888, vol. i, p. 62) and 

 by myself (Verb, Zool. Bot. Ges., Wien, 1889, Sitz. Ber. 51). 



