232 MISS A. L. EMBLETON ON THE ANATOMY 



examples of clirouic segregation, the individuals being separated iu the times of their 

 appearance in conformity with the habits of the species of which they are parasites. 

 No morpliological differences have yet been detected between the " seasonal races " in 

 this case. 



Apart from the investigations of these tvro naturalists, there has been, within the last 

 few yearSj work done on the EncyrtlncB by the American school of entomology, especially 

 by Dr. L. O. Howard and Dr. Ashmead, but their studies have not been directed to 

 investigation of the ontogeny. 



I projiose, therefore, in this paper to record the results obtained after work for eighteen 

 months on the Chaleid, Comys infellx ; from the nature of the case there are necessarily 

 some points which are left obscure. 



As the species I am dealing with has at present only been characterized by a few diagnostic 

 Avords, it may perhaps be well here to give very briefly the distinguishing features serving 

 to identify it among other sj)ecies of the genus — esjjecially to distinguish it from Comijs 

 h'wolor, \\ Inch it resembles to some extent. At hrst I took it to be that species, but 

 further investigation pointed to the conclusion that I was dealing with a new species. 

 I submitted it to Dr> L. O. Howard, who confirmed my 02)iaion, as did also Mr. P. 

 Cameron and Mr. E. Kewstead. 



CoMYS iNFELix, Embleton (Trans. Entom. Soc. London, 1902, ii. pp. 219-229). 



A small fly, 2 mm. in length, 3'75 mm. across the outstretched Avings. Colour 

 extensively black, but variegated, the head and thorax dai-k brown, abdomen black ; the 

 coxte of iha first leys are silvery white, the other parts fuscous and the tarsi black ; tibial 

 spiir normal ; in the second legs the coxae are black, the femora white shading to black, 

 the tibiae being expanded at the distal ends, and bearing a long, powerful spur ; the 

 third legs have white coxaj, brown femora, and dark brown tibiai Mith a normal sjDur, 

 the tarsi begin white and then shade to black at the tip ; the tarsi are all five-jointed. 

 The antenn-ce. are black, club-like at the tips, compressed in the lemale, but subcylindrical 

 in the male; there are eleven segments, all more or less clothed in fine hair; thefuniclc 

 is six-jointed, while the pedicel is shorter than the next segments. Between and rather 

 behind the two large dark eyes are three ocelli. The scutum is raised and triangular, 

 bearing an apical tuft of long dark sette, directed backwards. The fore wing is mottled 

 in blackish fuscous patches. The abdomen is short, and united to the thorax by an in- 

 conspicuous petiole; laterally the abdominal segments become "looped up " over a small 

 oval hinged plate on which are four long setae. The ovipositor, almost entirely hidden, 

 is composed of two large expanded chitinous plates, and a central sting made ujj of two 

 pointed rods. 



IL Natuiial History. 



(a) Ckissijicat ion.— The creature belongs to the subfamily Encyrtinic, according to 

 Howard in Comstock's report (lo). The distinguishing characters of the Chalcidida) 

 as given there are as follows : — Tarsi five-jointed ; middle tibice with a very stout spur at 



