﻿British 
  Braconidce. 
  ^ 
  

  

  known 
  to 
  Nees 
  v. 
  Esenbeck, 
  and 
  arranged 
  by 
  him 
  in 
  the 
  

   genus 
  Bracon, 
  Sectio 
  III. 
  (Mon., 
  i., 
  pp. 
  52 
  — 
  60). 
  Six 
  

   of 
  these 
  have 
  been 
  recognised 
  and 
  extracted 
  by 
  Wesmael 
  

   and 
  Haliday. 
  Bracon 
  singulator, 
  Nees, 
  and 
  Oijius 
  

   singularis, 
  Wesm., 
  are 
  two 
  different 
  insects 
  with 
  names 
  

   too 
  much 
  alike. 
  Of 
  the 
  species 
  mentioned 
  or 
  described 
  

   by 
  Eatzeburg, 
  Opius 
  ruhriceps 
  belongs 
  to 
  the 
  genus 
  

   Cenocoelius 
  ; 
  and 
  0. 
  ventricosus, 
  occurring 
  only 
  in 
  the 
  

   index, 
  is 
  a 
  misprint 
  for 
  Ophion. 
  In 
  Forster's 
  Synopsis 
  

   (Verh. 
  d. 
  pr. 
  Eheinl., 
  1862) 
  no 
  less 
  than 
  25 
  genera 
  are 
  

   proposed 
  for 
  the 
  Opiides. 
  Eight 
  of 
  them 
  are 
  founded 
  

   upon 
  undescribed 
  insects, 
  and 
  must 
  be 
  rejected 
  as 
  mere 
  

   names. 
  The 
  remaining 
  17 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  of 
  so 
  much 
  

   use 
  to 
  me 
  as 
  I 
  expected 
  ; 
  they 
  depend 
  each 
  upon 
  some 
  

   trifling 
  character 
  peculiar 
  to 
  one 
  species, 
  and 
  I 
  found 
  it 
  

   impossible 
  to 
  maintain 
  them 
  as 
  genera. 
  The 
  following 
  

   names 
  have 
  therefore 
  been 
  here 
  reunited 
  to 
  the 
  genus 
  

   Opius 
  or 
  to 
  Biosteres: 
  Chilotrichia, 
  Rhahdospilus, 
  Holco- 
  

   notns, 
  Allotypus, 
  Theroholus, 
  Hypocy 
  nodus, 
  Hypolahis, 
  

   Biophthora, 
  Desmiostoma, 
  Nosopcsa, 
  and 
  Utetes. 
  On 
  the 
  

   other 
  hand, 
  I 
  have 
  retained 
  Biosteres 
  and 
  Diachasma, 
  

   which 
  represent 
  the 
  leading 
  sections 
  of 
  Haliday 
  and 
  

   Wesmael 
  ; 
  each 
  contains 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  similar 
  species, 
  and 
  

   so 
  far 
  fulfils 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  essential 
  functions 
  of 
  a 
  

   genus. 
  Of 
  the 
  seven 
  genera 
  here 
  adopted, 
  the 
  four 
  first 
  

   consist, 
  unfortunately, 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  species 
  each 
  ; 
  yet 
  they 
  

   seem 
  too 
  aberrant 
  to 
  be 
  included 
  under 
  Opius. 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  year 
  1836, 
  when 
  Haliday 
  wrote 
  in 
  the 
  4th 
  

   vol. 
  of 
  the 
  ' 
  Entomological 
  Magazine,' 
  no 
  notice 
  has 
  been 
  

   taken 
  of 
  the 
  Opiids 
  in 
  this 
  country, 
  and 
  hardly 
  any 
  

   mention 
  of 
  them 
  occurs 
  in 
  continental 
  publications 
  ; 
  

   they 
  remain 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  time 
  among 
  the 
  most 
  

   neglected 
  of 
  all 
  hymenopterous 
  tribes. 
  In 
  this 
  attempt 
  

   to 
  reintroduce 
  them 
  to 
  notice 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  unable 
  to 
  

   obtain 
  any 
  assistance 
  from 
  others, 
  and 
  hence 
  the 
  amount 
  

   of 
  new 
  matter 
  to 
  be 
  brought 
  forward 
  is 
  necessarily 
  small. 
  

   Haliday's 
  paper 
  on 
  Ojmis 
  does 
  not 
  profess 
  to 
  be 
  com- 
  

   plete 
  ; 
  the 
  reader 
  is 
  throughout 
  referred 
  to 
  Wesmael 
  for 
  

   detailed 
  descriptions 
  ; 
  and 
  this, 
  together 
  with 
  extreme 
  

   conciseness, 
  makes 
  his 
  work 
  laborious 
  to 
  consult. 
  I 
  

   have 
  endeavoured 
  to 
  remedy 
  this 
  by 
  presenting 
  the 
  

   whole 
  subject 
  at 
  one 
  view, 
  explained 
  and 
  arranged 
  in 
  a 
  

   uniform 
  manner, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  added 
  a 
  few 
  figures 
  of 
  

   unpublished 
  forms 
  in 
  illustration 
  of 
  each 
  genus. 
  

  

  