ANDEICUS EAMTJLI. 93 



Tlie £ similarly coloured, the abdomen as a rule more widely infus- 

 cated ; the third antennal joint is slightly curved. 

 Length 1*5 — 2 mm. 



The amount of fuscous on the abdomen varies. 



The only British species with which it can be con- 

 founded is amenti, which may be known by the black 

 mesosternum. 



The galls of this species are easily recognised by 

 their forming a large mass like a ball of white wool. 

 The size of the ball varies according to the number of 

 galls composing it ; for it is not made by one gall, 

 but by a series of from 10 to 30 small, irregularly oval, 

 brown, hard woody galls, each of which bears long, 

 white, wool-like hair. With age the hair becomes of 

 a brownish-yellow colour, losing the white colour of 

 its youth. At first the hair is more or less glutinous. 

 Sometimes the mass contains only one or two galls, in 

 which case it might be mistaken for the gall of cirratus; 

 but the latter appears earlier, the flies also coming out 

 sooner. The galls originate from the <J catkins, which 

 are usually seen issuing from the woolly mass ; but I 

 have seen specimens which appear to issue from a 

 leaf -bud ; although it may really have been a flower- 

 bud, the flowers of which had been aborted by the 

 action of the gall-flies. 



The inquilines are Synergus facialis, Htg., S. radi- 

 atus, Mayr, and Ceroptres arator, but the last may 

 have come out of the twig galls of Andricus noduli. 



Parasites. — Torymus auratus, Decatoma Neesi, Foer. 

 (Giraud) ; Eurytoma semirufa, Gir. (Giraud) ; Ptero- 

 malus Ratzeburgi, Gir. (Giraud) ; Olinx debilis, Gir. 

 (Giraud) ; 0. gallarum (Brischke). 



I have found a Tortrix larva feeding on the galls. 



Of universal distribution, but local. 



Continental distribution : Sweden, Switzerland, 

 Germany, Austria. 



