0.1202. GENERA OF THE ENCTETIN^—ASHMEAD. 333 



2. Frons not broad, almost smooth, opaque, or minutely sliagreened, at the most 

 ■with a fevr minute punctures scattered over the surface; front wings with 

 the stigmal aud postmarginal veins unequal, the latter only partially 

 developed, the marginal vein very short, hardly developed; front wino-g 

 hyaline, hut with a discoidal cloud. 



(25) Prionomastix Mayv=Lioca)'us Thomson. 

 (Type Encyrtus morio Dalman.) 



Tribe III. MIRINI. 



To this tribe belong tlie vast majority of the known Encyrtinte. It is 

 distingnished from the other tribes principally by the mandibles, which 

 are somewhat differently shaped, and always tridentate at apex. In 

 most of the genera these have three small equal, or very nearly equal, 

 teeth, while in others the outer tooth is the longest and most acute. 

 One or two genera, however, have the two outer teeth longer than the 

 inner. The marginal cell in the hind wings is usually long and narrow, 

 nearly obsolete, but never very broad, as in the Encyrtini; while the 

 hind tibite have only one apical spur. 



It may be well here to call attention to two tribes founded provision- 

 ally, in 1892 and 1895, by Dr. L. O. Howard, since all of one and i)art 

 of the other belong here, namely, the Tetracnemini,' and the Bothrio- 

 thoracini,^ which Dr. von Dalla Torre, in the fifth volume of his Cata- 

 logus, has elevated to subfamily rank. 



The first is an unnatural assemblage of genera, as Dr. Howard has 

 already pointed out, based upon the fact that certain genera have been 

 discovered having ramose an temme in the males, which in itself, although 

 interesting, is of no tribal significance, since there is scarcely a family 

 in the Order Hymenoptera, from the most specialized to the more gen- 

 eralized, that does not possess one or more genera with this character- 

 istic feature. 



The second, or the tribe Bothriothoracini, too, seeius to have scarcely 

 any more reason for its existence, being based principally upon the 

 thimble-like punctuation possessed by certain genera, all the other 

 characters mentioned by Dr. Howard, in his diagnosis of the tribe, 

 being common to many other genera. The thimble-like punctuation of 

 certain genera, as well as other styles of i^unctuation, is a valuable 

 diagnostic character, but of no other value, since I find all intermediate 

 grades, from the strong, thimble-like punctuation possessed by BotJi- 

 riothorax, of varying shades and degrees, down to a perfectly smooth 

 impunctate surface. I consider, therefore, that both tribes are unnat- 

 ural and not tenable. 



The genera of this tribe are exceedingly numerous, about 59 having 

 been recognized. It is believed, however, that all can be easily dis- 

 tinguished by the use of the following table. 



1 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus , XV, 1892, p. 361. 2 idem., XVII, 1895, p. 605 , 



