ATTEMPTED DIVISION OF BRITISH INSECTS, 409 



feelers four-jointed ; ocelli three ; wings very ample ; legs short; 

 prothorax not developed superiorly, the mesothorax and head 

 meeting above it; podeon as wide as the other segments; oviduct 

 ensiform, exserted, enclosed between two appendages. Inhabits 

 fir-trees, occasionally settling on umbelliferous plants. Xyela. 



Natural Order. — Oryssites. 



Larva and pupa unknown ; the former is supposed to feed on the 

 wood of dead fir-trees and old horn-beams. Imago, with antennas 

 eleven-jointed in the male, ten-jointed in the female, short, rather 

 incrassated exteriorly, the joints of various proportions and forms; 

 mandibles dilated, rounded, pubescent; maxillae, with the blade, 

 obtuse, rounded ; the galea rather elongate, narrow, and truncate 

 at the apex ; feelers long, pubescent, and five-jointed ; labium 

 short, with the ligvila small, rounded, and entire, and the feelers 

 rather short and three-jointed ; ocelli three ; fore and hind wings 

 moderately large, with numerous nervures ; legs short ; prothorax 

 with very little development superiorly ; podeon as wide as the 

 other segments ; ovipositor spirally convoluted beneath the body. 

 Inhabits fir and horn-beam trees, running over them in the sun- 

 shine with great rapidity ; the male has been found on umbellate 

 flowers. OryssuS' 



Stirps. — Tenthredinina, Saw-flies. 



Natural Order. — Allantites. 



Larva cylindrical, of uniform substance, with six articulated and 

 twelve or fourteen membranaceous feet. Inhabits vegetables, 

 feeding upon their leaves in the manner of Lepidopterous larvae. 

 Pupa sometimes changes in a cocoon, fixed in a curled leaf of 

 the plant the larva feeds on, but most commonly on or in the 

 ground. Imago, with antennae nine-jointed, of uniform sub- 

 stance, or attenuated towards the apex ; mandibles short, strong, 

 very acute at the apex, and having one internal tooth ; maxillse, 

 with the blade acute, the galea obtuse and exarticulate, the feelers 

 long and six-jointed ; labium short, with the ligula distinctly 

 trilobed ; wings ample, the disposition of their nervures afford 

 characters for generic division ; podeon equally developed witli 

 the other segments ; oviduct with teeth like a saw. The species of 

 this order are most abundant in the spring and summer in woods, 

 gardens, and lanes, settling on leaves and flowers, flying with 

 ease, but not far at a time, and being full of motion and activity 

 in the sunshine. They feed apparently on the pollen of flowers. 

 no. IV. vol. II. 3 G 



