243 



site of the Euioi)eaii '' Prayinji Mantis;"' the U. S. National Mnseum 

 contains two species Incd from tlie eji'^-cases of our common North 

 American ]Mantis [Stofiniomaiifis c(trolni((), as well as a ]>unctnre(l eg{^- 

 case from Australia, collected by ]Mr. F, M. AVebster, and a species 

 from Japan sent by Mr. Koebele. Mayr mentions incidentally the fact 

 that there are several sjtccics in his own collection and that of the 

 Zoological Museum in ^'icnna bred from tlie cgj^s of exotic jMantidu', 

 and Westwood summarized as long ago as 1844 ten species, three of 

 them from gum copal, two fiom Europe, two fro)n tli«^ Isle of France, 

 one from King Georges Sound, one from Brazil, and one from New 

 South Wales. 



This genus, which 

 was o r i g i u a 1 1 y 

 erected by Spinola 

 in 1811, was subse- 

 quently described 

 under the name of 

 Palmon by Dalman 

 in 1825, as Priome- 

 rus by Walker in 

 1833, and as Bac- 

 tyrischion by Costa 

 in 1857. It seems 

 to form in certain 

 features or charac- 

 ters a link between 

 the subfamilies 

 Chalcidinie and 

 Tory mill 11% having 

 the enlarged hind 

 thi ghs of the former 

 subfamily and the very long ovipositor of many members of the latter. 

 It has been placed, indeed, in the latter subfamily by Walker and other 

 writers, but recent authors, following Mayr, have concluded that this 

 genus bears a stronger relationship to the Chalcidinie, and Mi-. Howard 

 has so placed it in his geiieric synopsis of the Chalcidida*. In antenual 

 structure and the character of the pronotum, in addition to its enlarged 

 and dentate posterior femora, it is closely allied to the other genera of 

 this latter subfamily. Its lengthy ovipositor, which is, in fact, almost 

 tlie only character which it has in common with the Torymina', is simi)ly 

 particularly developed for the special needs of the insect, as without it 

 the thick an<l tough egg-cases of Mantis could not be pierced. Our 

 American si)ecies has frequently been reared, and was mentioned as 

 long ago as 1854 by Gl(>ver. Professor Riley reared it in 1808 in Mis- 

 souri, and specimens have since remained undescribed in his collection. 

 It was not, in fact, until 1885 that it received a specific name. In this 



8. — Podagrion iiifiiitix, ndiilt fViiiiiIi' — gr<'ii'ly •■"lai'ged (original). 



