542 
HYMENOPTERA. 
close to it, under the outer angles of the visor; are rather 
short, curved, and thread-like; and are unequal in the num¬ 
ber and size of the joints, in the two sexes. They have 
a short and thick neck. Their borer is very slender, is 
entirely concealed in a deep and narrow chink under the 
hinder part of the body, and is coiled up at its base, so 
that it can be darted out to some distance when extended. 
The fore legs of the females are very thick, and have only 
three joints to the feet; while the rest, as well as all of the 
feet of the male, are five-jointed. Their wings have but 
few veins and meshes in them. These insects are active, 
fly quickly, and love to alight and run about on the sunny 
side of the trunks of trees, wherein they are supposed to 
lay their eggs. 
For a long time, only two kinds of Oryssus were known 
to naturalists, and both of them were European insects. In 
the year 1833, three undescribed species Avere enumerated 
in my “ Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts ”; and 
these, in the second edition of the Catalogue, Avhich was 
published early in 1835, received the following descriptive 
names, by means Avhereof an entomologist would find little 
or no difficulty in recognizing them; namely, Jicemorrhoida- 
Us, the red-tailed, maurus^ the dark-colored, and affinis, the 
allied, so called from its near resemblance to the preceding 
species. These singular insects Avere taken upon a Avillow- 
tree, by my friend, the Rev. L. W. Leonard, and Avere pre¬ 
sented to me many years ago. 
The red-tailed Oryssus has been renamed and described, 
by Mr. NeAvman, in the October number 
of the fifth volume* of “The Entomologi¬ 
cal Magazine,” published in London in 
1838. It is his Oryssus terminalis (Fig. 
252). The female only is knoAAm to me. 
Her body is black, rough before, and smooth 
behind, with the last three segments of a blood-red color. 
Fig. 252. 
* Page 486. 
