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Genus LIIL CYNIPS. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Antenna cylindrical, moniliform. Mouth armed 

 with jaws, but no proboscis. Palpi four, 

 short, unequal, and capitated. Sting spiral, 

 and contained within the body. 



General Observations. 



It is the species of this genus that produce 

 those vegetable excrescences known by the 

 name of galls. These galls are of various figures 

 and sizes. Some are round like small apples, 

 some are isolated ; others again are in clusters ; 

 many are of an irregular figure, and are occasion- 

 ally bristled with little fibres. Each particular 

 species of Cynips seems to form an excrescence 

 of its own, which deviates in some respects from 

 the rest, but that of all others the most interest- 

 ing on account of its utility, is the oak-gall, pro- 

 duced by the C. Quercus-folii. 



When the female Cynips is desirous to lay 

 E3 



