MINUTE HYMENOPTEROUS INSECTS. 585 



Mymar taprobanicus (Plate LXXIII. fig. 4, c? , and fig. 6, ? ), Ward, in Ent. Mo. Mag. 

 Feb. 1875, p. 197. 



In the work above referred to, the female only of this remarkable species is described. 

 I have now, however, the pleasure of describing both sexes, collected in Ceylon by 

 sweeping low herbage, by Mr. Staniforth Green, which are preserved as microscopical 

 objects in Canada-balsam slides; and the male is fortunately arranged so that its 

 structure can well be observed from above ; but the female is fixed laterally. The head 

 is large, transverse, with a slight ridge in the male between the anterior part of the 

 eyes, the antennae being affixed on the fore edge of this ridge, considerably above the 

 mouth ; so that the geniculation of the antennae is quite of a different nature from that 

 of the Chalcididae. The antennas of the male are very long, 13-jointed, and quite filiform ; 

 the basal joint slightly curved, and the second joint short, the remaining eleven joints 

 nearly equal in length and slenderness; in the female the antennae are 9-jointed, the 

 first joint longer than in the male, the second joint rather short and thicker than the 

 apex of the preceding joint, the third joint slender and slightly longer than the second, 

 the fourth very long, slender, tbe fifth to the eighth small, and the ninth forming a large 

 oval mass. The thorax is elongate-ovate, the anterior part conical, and the hind part 

 truncated ; the abdomen is attached to the thorax in both sexes by a thickish peduncle, 

 slightly longer than the posterior coxae; the abdomen is very small in the male, 

 larger and pointed at the tip in the female, which is furnished with a short, sharply 

 pointed ovipositor, with two long lateral valves. The fore wings resemble those of M. pul- 

 chellus, except that they are not so strongly battle-door shaped at the tips ; the disk of this 

 terminal part is furnished with two rows of short fine seta?, and the margins of this part 

 are furnished with strong bristles. The hind wings are about two thirds of the length of 

 the fore wings (thus differing from those of M. pulchellus), and are quite bristle-shaped ; 

 they have a few very short fine hairs on their margins and near the base ; on the fore 

 margin tbey have three small sharp hooklets (fig. 7) for fastening them to the hind margin 

 of the fore wings. The legs are very long and slender, with 4-jointed tarsi and large 

 pulvilli. 



The whole insect is of an ochraceous colour, paler beneath, with the antennae and legs 

 concolorous ; the apical half of the dilated portion of the fore wings is dusky, and the 

 tips of the antennae and tarsi are darker. 



I also refer to the genus Mymar * a very singular species collected by the late lamented 

 T. Vernon Wollaston by sweeping low herbage in the Island of St. Helena, of which 

 fortunately, both sexes were procured, and which agree in having the fore wings of large 

 size, coriaceous, setose, convex, and, when shut, forming a semiglobular dome over the 

 abdomen, quite unlike any previously known Hymenopterous insect. 



Mymar Wollastonii. (Plate LXXIII. fig. 8, <? ; fig. 9, ? .) 



Niger, nitidissimus, glaberrinrus, capite thorace paulo latiore, subquadrato-rotundato, convexo, postice 

 valde emarginato, thorace compresso, prothoracis lateribus subtus paullo dilatatis, pedunculo abdo- 

 * If it should be deemed necessary to separate this species from the genus Mymar, I beg leave to suggest that its 

 affinity therewith may be indicated by the employment of the generic or subgeneric name of Mymarilla. 



