690 



ARTHEOPODA 



SUB-KINGDOM 



M VII 



Uroceridae (Wood Wasps), Gynipidae (Gall Flies), Ichneumonidae (Fig. 1473), 

 Braconidae, Chrysididae (Gold Wasps), Vespidae (Wasps), Apidae (Bees, Fig. 1474)| 

 Formicidae (Ants, Fig. 1475), etc. They are most abundant in amber, and in the 



FIG. 1473. 

 Ichneumonites bellus, Heer. Mio- 



cene ; Oeningen, Baden. 

 Heer). 



5/ 2 (after 



FIG. 1474. 



Xylocopa senilis, Heer. Mio- 

 cene ; Oeningen, Baden, 1/1 (after 

 Heer). 



FIG. 1475. 



Prionomyrmex longiceps, 

 Mayr. Oligocene ; Baltic 

 amber. 2/ x (after Mayr). 



fresh- water strata of Aix, Oeningen, and especially Radoboj and Florissant. A species 

 of Myrmar, one of the minutest insects known, belonging to the parasitic Proctro- 

 trupidae, has been found in Baltic amber. 



Range and Distribution of the Insecta. 



According to Scudder, about 2600 fossil insects had been described up to 1885, 

 of which 155 were Palaeozoic species, 475 Mesozoic, and 1972 Tertiary. Since then 

 these figures have been considerably increased by discoveries at Cornmentry, Florissant, 

 in amber and elsewhere. 



The oldest fossil insect is Protocimex from the Swedish Ordovician. Following 

 this are PalaeoUattina from the Middle Silurian of Calvados, France, and several 

 Devonian forms from New Brunswick. 



A marked increase in numbers and variety of form is observed in the Coal 

 Measures, the most noted localities being Commentry in Department Allier, and 

 Mazon Creek, Illinois. Other localities for the older fossil insects are Zweibriicken, 

 Wettin-Lobejiin near Halle, Manebach in Thuringia, the Belgian and British coal- 

 fields in Europe, and Nova Scotia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Rhode Island in America. 



The Permian (especially the Rothliegendes of Weissig in Saxony, Stockheim in 

 Bavaria, Lebach near Saarbriicken, and Cassville, West Virginia) yields few, but in 

 part very interesting species, for example, those of Eugereon. From different localities 

 of the Trias, Heer describes several Orthoptera, and also two beetles from Vaduz in 

 Liechtenstein. To these must be added about twenty species recently discovered in 

 the South Park of Colorado, nearly all of which are cockroaches. The Lias of 

 Schambelen in Aargau, Dobbertin in Mecklenburg, and Gloucestershire, England, 

 contains a tolerably rich insect fauna. Only a few species are derived from the 

 Stonesfield Slates, but the Purbeck of Southern England, on the other hand, is quite 

 rich. Excellently preserved remains are found in Lithographic Slates (Upper Jura) 

 of Bavaria, especially at Solenhofen, Eichstatt, and Kelheim. The Cretaceous again is 

 very poor in insect remains, most of the forms occurring in Bohemia. 



Some Eocene species are known, but for the most part not yet fully described, 

 from the Isle of Wight and phosphorites of Quercy, France. The Oligocene insect 

 fauna is surprisingly rich and varied. By far the greatest number of species is 

 derived from Baltic amber ; other interesting localities are Aix in Provence, 

 Florissant, and the White River region of Colorado. The Miocene localities of 



