l895-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 1 29 



examined, more than half of which are brought to light for the first time, 

 and 35 species unidentified. The biology of a number of the species is 

 dwelt on at length, comparisons being made with the habits of many 

 other fossorial wasps ; and a chapter is devoted to the phylogeny and 

 systematic remarks, and another to the geographical distribution. Coming 

 to the systematic part of the work, we find the species divided into two 

 grand divisions,— the Bembeces genuinae, consisting of the greater num- 

 ber of the species, and the Bembeces aberrantes ; and the species are 

 further divided into 39 minor groups. The author finds that Cresson 

 confused two species in describing Belfragei, and in separating the two 

 has named both, thus erecting a new name for Belfragei, which it appears 

 he was unable to identify from Cresson's description. 



Another change is the substitution of the uivme spinalis Lepelitier for 

 fasciata, under which head American students had known our common 

 species, because the author believes it impossible to identify ihGfasciala 

 of Fabricius from the description, as it is applicable to several other species. 

 The advisibility of this modification is to be doubted, inasmuch as the 

 form which we regarded as fasciata has probably more right to the name 

 than any of the allied ones ; and as Fabricius' name cannot be dropped, 

 unless proven a synonym, it is more advantageous by far to assign some 

 form to it, fitting the description, than to increase the already too large 

 list of unidentified species of the old authors, which will no doubt never 

 be determined. The author is to be congratulated on the completion of 

 such a valuable contribution to hymenopterology. — W. J. F. 



42. We have just received from the authors a copy of an important con- 

 tribution to the literature of West Indian Hymenoptera, the " Report 

 upon the Parasitic Hymenoptera of the Island of St. Vincent," by C. V. 

 Riley, William H. Ashmead and L. O. Howard, printed in the Linnean 

 Society's Journal, vol. xxv. The work is based on the material collected 

 for the West India Committee by Mr. Herbert H. Smith, whose energy 

 as a collector has been well attested by his previous labors in Brazil. 

 Prof. Riley contributes the introduction and a list of the previously 

 described Parasitica of the island, which is followed by Part i of Mr. 

 Ashmead's paper, this being succeeded by Mr. Howard's report on part 

 of the Chalcididae. Part 2 of Mr. Ashmead's report concludes the work, 

 which includes no less than 254 pages, in which 6 new genera and 299 new 

 species are described. Prof. Riley hopes soon to publish a supplementary 

 paper containing the Microgasterinae and the Eupelminae. — W. J. F. 



IJJDEX TO THE PRECEDING LITERATURE. 



The number after each author's name in this index refers to the journal, as numbered 

 in the preceding literature, in which that author's paper was published ; * denotes that 

 the paper in question contains descriptions of new North American forms. 



THE GENERAL SUBJECT. 

 Robertson i, Peytoureau 2, Kowalevsky 7, Tutt 12, Freer 12, Riding 12, 

 Dei 18, Riibsaamen 20, Wilson 23, Nutting 27, Forbes 31, Knaggs 34,^ 

 Huard 37, Mosley 39. 



