168 
HYMENQPTERA. 
appear that they are the commonest gall-insects. In Australia, a special 
division of Coccidce (Brachyscelids ) are inhabitants of galls. In India 
Dactylopius nipce Mask, produces what is practically a gall, a swelling 
and distortion of the tissues of the plant, due to the presence of the 
insect; these are found on some varieties of cotton, on Hibiscus and 
on mulberry. We have indicated these families as being those in which 
gall-insects are known and in which they may be expected also in this 
country. Galls are not easy to rear in “captivity,” since the removal 
of the gall from the growing plant interferes with nutrition, and moulds 
are a great trouble; gall-insects are also not quick in development and 
it is probable that success will be obtained only by breeding on the plant 
or by patient observation. We figure some galls as well as the insects 
causing them (see under Cecidomyiidce and Psyllidce below). The 
student should see Kieffer’s paper on Gall-insects of Bengal (Ann. Soc. 
Bruxelles XXIX, p. 133, 1905). 
PROCTOTRYPID.E. 
Small insects , the prothorax reaching hack to the tegulce, with few 
nervures in the wings , the antennae straight. 
The classification of the parasitic Hymenoptera is as yet insufficient¬ 
ly understood and with such vast families to deal with, it is, without 
going far more deeply into the subject than we here can, impossible 
to give characters by which to recognise any Proctotrypid . They 
are essentially small parasitic Hymenoptera, with the above general 
characters ; they differ from the Chalcidce in fairly characteristic 
details^ but include some insects very difficult to place if one has not a 
very thorough grasp of these families. These little insects exhibit 
great variety in structure. The ovipositor is a continuation of the 
end of the body. Many are of beautiful metallic colours, the body 
hard, like that of Chrysidce. 
The life is so far as known, wholly parasitic, though the habits of 
not many species are known. The Indian species reared are from insect 
eggs, one from a dipterous larva and one from a beetle larva. It is 
certain that a great number will be reared when more attention is 
paid to this group. The family is a very large one with numerous sub¬ 
divisions. Judging from the number of undescribed species found or 
reared, the plains’ species of India are little known. Dalla Torre’s 
catalogue gives some five Indian species, besides a number more 
from Ceylon, but this number is an extremely small part of what 
would be known were the group to be collected; a great number of 
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