1922] 
Conoaxima 
153 
CONOAXIMA, A NEW GENUS OF THE HYMENOPTE- 
ROUS FAMILY EURYTOMIDiE, WITH A DESCRIP- 
TION OF ITS LARVA AND PUPA. 
By Charles T. Brues 1 
During the course of his investigations on myrmecophilous 
plants in British Guiana, Professor I. W. Bailey obtained speci- 
mens of a remarkable Hymenopterous insect parasitic on ant- 
queens. 
The following notes on its habits have been furnished by 
Professor Bailey. 
“The colonies of Azteca constructor Emery and of A. alfaroi 
Emery which inhabit the fistulose stems of Cecropia anqulata 
I. W. Bailey, the common myrmecophytic Cecropia of the 
Kartabo Region of British Guiana, are initiated by young fe- 
cundated queens in juvenile plants. The queens enter the 
internodal chambers through circular perforations cut in groove- 
like depressions (Prostomata) in the sides of the stem. These 
entrance apertures are covered with triturated pith on their 
central sides and ultimately become occluded by callus, which 
seals the queens within the 'primordial chambers.’ 
“Although many of the successive internodal cavities of 
each young plant become inhabited, few of the queens succeed 
in raising a brood. When the stems are cut open, most of the 
chambers are found to contain dead queens. I was unable to 
account for this high mortality until I discovered the presence 
of a small scar in the callus which fills the entrance aperture. 
This scar within a scar indicated, of course, that some insect 
had emerged since the queen became sealed within her domatium. 
Following up this clue, I soon found chambers — with modified 
callus in the apertures — which contained, in addition to the dead 
and frequently dismembered queen, the larva, pupa or imago 
of a Hymenopterous parasite. The evidence at hand seems to 
indicate that the queens are parasitized before they enter their 
dwellings.” 
Contribution from the Entomological Laboratory of the Bussey Institution, Harvard 
University, No. 209. 
