BASIS OF PRESENT STUDY 
The present study is based upon more than 17,000 insects 
and an estimated 54,000 galls — a total of over 71,000 speci- 
mens representing the 93 species known in the genus Cynips. 
Every one of the insects has been examined under the higher 
powers of a binocular microscope. Thousands of the speci- 
mens have been repeatedly re-examined in direct comparison 
with every specimen whose affinities might in any way throw 
light on the interpretation of the characters under observa- 
tion. Exactly 16,899 of the insects and nearly all of the 
54,000 galls of the genus are in our own collections where 
they have been available for all the comparisons and endless 
re-comparisons that have been necessary during the four years 
of intensive study given to this group of species. There are 
96 Schmitt boxes of the mounted material of Cynips which 
constitute the permanent validation of our conclusions on this 
group, and this collection will be available at all times to fu- 
ture students. Part of our material is being distributed 
among museums and other workers on Cynipidae. Outside 
our own collections, I have studied the Cynips material in the 
American, U.S. National, Philadelphia Academy, Harvard 
(Museum of Comparative Zoology), Field, Illinois Natural 
History, and Stanford Museums. 
The specific distribution of the material used in the present 
study is as follows : 
Species 
Agama (1 var.) 
Arida (1 var.) 
Bella (3 var.) 
Cava (1 var.) ......... 
Centricola (4 var.) 
Conica (1 var.) 
Cornifex (1 var.) 
Divisa (2 var.) 
Disticha (1 var.) ....... 
Dugesi (4 var.) 
Echinus (6 var.) 
Folii (4 var.) 
Fulvicollis (7 var.) 
Gemmula (4 var.) 
Guadaloupensis (3 var.) 
Hirta (7 var.) 
Insects 
Galls 
Examined 
Examined 
57 
177 
24 
406 
56 1,182 
118 
245 
3 ..... . 
38 
4 
12 
. . 1,090 
1,092 
13 
5 
110 
360 
589 
6,460 
646 
935 
. . 5,170 
14,581 
746 
547 
18 
67 
. . 1,457 
5,240 
(ID 
