INTRODUCTION. 



THE principal object of the present Catalogue has been to 

 give a complete list of the specimens of Hymenopterous In- 

 sects contained in the collection of the British Museum, indi- 

 cating at the same time the peculiarities of each, as regards 

 variations in colour, locality, and the source from whence it 

 has been derived. 



With this view, the different individuals of each species 

 contained in the collection are indicated by the letters a, b, c, 

 &c., following the name of the species, and its synonymes. 



The habitat is given as particularly as the materials pos- 

 sessed by the Museum permit ; but it is often impossible to 

 give the place from whence they are derived, except in the 

 most general terms. 



Those specimens which have been presented to the Mu- 

 seum have the name of the donor marked immediately after 



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