PTEROMALIDAE OF N.W. EUROPE 149 



Selimnus diores Walker 



Selimnus Diores Walker, 1842 : 335, $. 



Type material. Type $, Switzerland, neighbourhood of Geneva (de Romand), not 

 found (returned to de Romand coll. by Walker and subsequently destroyed, see 

 below). 2 



This species, and consequently the identity of the genus Selimnus, has not been 

 recognized by any subsequent author. When described it was not placed in any of 

 the recognized families. In his annotated copy of his 1846 List of Hymenopterous 

 Insects in the British Museum. Part 1. Chalcidites (which is in my possession) Walker 

 has entered Selimnus on the interleaf between pages 28 and 29, i.e., between the 

 genera of the Sphegigasterine group and Lamprotatus, as if he thought this might be 

 its correct position. The original description suggests to me that Selimnus may have 

 been a genus near to, or identical with, Elatoides Nikol'skaya (1952 : 189, 200). 

 Nikol'skaya placed Elatoides in Perilampidae, but it probably belongs to Ptero- 

 malidae (Sphegigasterini, or near this). 



MISCOGASTERINI 



Most of the genera, (Seladerma to Skeloceras inclusive, and Merismus) which I 

 include in this tribe, were dealt with by Delucchi in his study of the European 

 Lamprotatinae (1955 : 1-97). Toxeuma, which Delucchi included in that sub- 

 family, I have transferred to Sphegigasterini. In the above paper Delucchi made 

 considerable advances in the taxonomy of this group, particularly in defining the 

 genera in a more satisfactory manner, and arranging both genera and species in a 

 natural way. His treatment of the species was less satisfactory because often he 

 did not take their variation into account. In the case of several previously described 

 species, only the types were studied ; whilst a number of his new species were 

 apparently described from single specimens. He neglected a number of Walker's 

 species chiefly on the ground that the types could not easily be identified because of 

 the way they had been prepared. Fortunately I have been able to collect a large 

 number of British Miscogasterini (both reared and swept specimens) with the aid of 

 which I have tried to assess the variation of many species. Since my material came 

 from the same country as the Walker species (and often from near the type-localities), 

 it has been possible to identify most of these by direct comparison of the fresh 

 material with the types. In working out the species I have made a large number of 

 measurements, both on my own material and on the types. I believe that this study 

 will therefore provide a reasonably sound account of the British (and some other) 

 species. It must be admitted that some of these are not easy to distinguish. Where 

 special problems of identification occur I have discussed them below. Most of these 



2 Since writing the above I discovered the following statement by Walker in a letter to Haliday dated 

 9th March 1868 : "I described long ago a few species of Chal* found near Geneva and in the collection 

 of De Romand and since in that of de Saussure and since annihilated. One of them is the genus Selimnus 

 which I believe is one of the Sphegigasterini, tho' it has the colour and quadrate prothorax of the 

 Eurytomini— perhaps another specimen of it may come in sight before long ". 



