A Note on the Validity of the Proctotrypoid Genus Tanyzonus Marshall.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 58, 1928, Page 310

A Note on the Validity of the Proctotrypoid Genus Tanyzonus Marshall. By E. S. Gouralay, First Assistant Entomologist, Cawthron Institute, Nelson. [Read before the Nelson Philosophical Institute 27th July, 1927; received by Editor, 10th August, 1927; issued separately, 8th November, 1927.] The Rev. T. A. Marshall (1892) described a Belytid from New Zealand under the name of Tanyzonus bolitophilae. He based his description on a male and a female specimen reared from the New Zealand glow-worm Arachnocampa (Bolitophila) luminosa Sk. which he received from Mr. G. V. Hudson, of Wellington. Later (1892) he wrote a short article stating that Cameron advised him of having described the same insect as Betyla fulva in 1889 rendering his (Marshall's) description invalid. In 1898 Cameron confirmed this opinion. The most recent reference to T. bolitophilae and B. fulva is made by Brues (1922), in which he expresses doubt of their identity. I am indebted to Mr. Hudson for the privilege of being able to examine a male and a female Belytid reared from the same batch of glow-worm larvae and identical with those sent to Marshall. It will be noticed that in Marshall's original description of T. bolitophilae he records that he did not examine the abdomen ventrally, and later, in admitting the synonmy with B. fulva, apparently still failed to examine his specimens for one outstanding generic character of Betyla, viz., the presence of a large tooth below the petiole. Neither of Mr. Hudson's specimens has any trace of a tooth so situated, but as the other generic characters are so similar it is difficult to determine the identity of T. bolitophilae with certainty until Cameron's type is examined; as, however, the most careful examination of these specimens fails to reveal the essential characteristic of Betyla, it would appear that T. bolitophilae is a distinct insect. Literature Cited. Brues, C. T., 1922. Some Parasitic Hymenoptera from New Zealand, Psyche, vol. 29, Nos. 5–6. Camebon, P., 1889. Manchester Memoirs, p. 13. —— 1898. Manchester Memoirs, p. 41. Marshall, T. A., 1892. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, pp. 275, 308.