THE NEW EAIRY FLY. 



THE DISCOVERY OF THE FEMALE OF 

 MYMAR REG A LIS. 



Bv FRED KNOCK. l'.i:.S.. F.L.S., F.R.M.S. 



In the course of mv investigations into tlie life- 

 histories of the British Mymaridae I have found it to 

 be of the utmost importance and help to note the 

 exact locality, not onl\- of the ground, hut the actual 

 plant on which I have made a particular capture. I 

 did so on June jrd and Sth, bringing awav some of 

 the stem and leaves and placing them in a special 

 breeding box. I scarceh- need to say how frequently 

 I scanned these 

 stems with my 

 magnifier in the 

 hope of finding the 

 roval partner of 

 mx new Mymar.* 

 Day after day 

 passed, without 

 anvthing but tiny 

 midges emerging. 

 The longest day 

 passed after a 

 boisterous south- 

 AV e s t \N' i n d — 

 follo\N'ed by cooler 

 breezes — then on 

 the 22nd. the 

 Coronation da\- of 



Kin.£ 



George 



V. 



and Queen Mary. 

 when the grand 

 procession had 

 passed, down 

 came the long- 

 wished -for rain. 

 Each day brought 

 more rain, and 

 Fairy Flies appre- 

 ciate a gentle 

 shower and moist 

 atmosphere. \\ hich 

 softens the hard stems through w hich the imprisoned 

 Mymar has to bite its way. 



On June 27th, I carefully examined all 

 m}- breeding boxes, finding a number of various 

 species combing their antennae and preening 

 their wings. .\t last I came to my special box, 

 containing stems from Burnham Beeches, and 

 there I saw a Mvmar, which, when corked up in a 



tube, I tremblingly examined with mv magnifier, 

 and smiled with great happiness, for it was the 

 ro\al consort — the female Mymar recalls with its 

 under-wings arching down in a graceful curve, the 

 tip terminating in a few long hairs. 



The general colour of the body and legs is 

 ferruginous, with a slight darkening on the dorsal 

 area. The antennae are very delicate and as long 



as the whole 

 insect, the first 

 and second joint 

 ferruginous, the 

 third and fourth 

 (the latter very 

 long) dark brown, 

 the fifth lighter, 

 and the sixth, 

 se \- e II t h and 

 eigh t h almost 

 \ell()\\. while the 

 ninth (the club) 

 is dark brow n. 



After making a 

 detailed descrip- 

 tion of it, I com- 

 mitted it to the 

 killing phial, and 

 it is now success- 

 fully mounted in 

 that most beau- 

 tiful of all media 

 — Canada balsam. 

 The capture of 

 this most striking 

 species, which is 

 altogether new to 

 the scientific 

 world, proves that 

 there are yet many 

 there were more 

 of our Parasitic 



Figure 1. 

 Mymar rcgalis. magnified 30 diameters. 



good things to be taken if only 

 workers in the fascinating study 

 Hymenoptera. 



During the past thirt\'-five years the writer has 

 captured hundreds of specimens, composing eight 

 new genera, running up and down the panes of glass 

 of a small conservatory, as well as on those of the 

 house. 



[In " Knowledge " for July. 1911 (Volume XXXI\'. page 271), Mr. Enock described a new species of Fairy Fly under the 

 name of Mymar rcgalis from a specimen of the male which he obtained in Burnham Beeches. — Eds.] 



297 



