ni. 



THE NORTH AMERICAN ORTALIDH. 



It is a long time since I intended to publish a monograph of 

 the North American Ortalidae. The hope and expectation, how- 

 ever, of increasing in a measure my very fragmentary knowledge 

 of this family by the addition of more species, either new or not 

 yet seen by me, induced me to postpone for some time the com- 

 pletion of my work. Unfortunately, this expectation has not 

 been fulfilled. Within the last four years, only five species were 

 added to those previously known by me, and it became evident 

 that if I had to wait for a tolerable increase of my acquaintance 

 with the Ortalidae, my work would run the risk of remaining un- 

 published. I let it appear, therefore, in the best shape I could 

 give it, with the scanty materials at my command. I have no 

 doubt that North America contains a far larger number of 

 genera than those which came within my knowledge. In order 

 to define, with some approximation, the systematic position of the 

 genera of which I have not had any representatives for com- 

 parison, I have included in this monograph all the South 

 American genera of which I possess specimens ; inasmuch as it 

 is very probable that most of them occur at least in the southern 

 portion of North America. The striking analogy between the 

 North American and European Ortalina renders it very probable 

 that the number of genera in this group, common to both conti- 

 nents, is larger than it appears at present. For this reason I 

 have deemed it useful to include in the general characters of the 

 Ortalina all the data necessary for the recognition of the more 

 difficult and less well known among the European genera. 



Synopsis of the Distribution of the Family. 



Division I. — First longitudinal vein bristly or distinctly hairy. 

 A. Ovipositor not flattened. 



Section I. Pyrgotina. 



