VI. Report -upon the Aculeate Hymenoptera of the Islands of St. Vincent and Grenada, with additions to the Parasitic Hyrnenoptera and a List of the, described Hymenoptera of the West Indies

( 207 ) VI. Report upon the Aculeate Hymenoptera of the Islands of St. Vincent and Grenada, with additions to the Parasitic Hymenoptera and a List of the described Hymenoptera of the West Indies. By WiLLlAM H. AsHMEAD, Assistant Curator U.S. National Museum. [Read March 21,st, 1900.] INTRODUCTION Having done so much work on the Terebrant Hyme-noptera of St. Vincent and Grenada, it was with consider-able pleasure that I received, early in June 1897, a letter IVom Mr. George Murray, informing me that it was the desire of the West Indies Natural History Exploration Committee to transmit to me, to be worked up, the Aculeate Hymenoptera collected by Herbert H. Smith in these islands ; that in a few days he expected to leave on an exploring expedition to the South Seas to be gone all summer, and if I could do the work to send my reply to Sir George Hampson, of the British Museum, who would see that the material was promptly forwarded. I was, of course, very desirous of accepting this offer, and thus round off my studies on the Hymenopterous fauna of the West Indies. It was not until some time in August, however, that I saw my way clear to accept this offer, when I wrote to Sir George Hampson, my accept-ance, and the material in the Aeuleata, as well as much additional material in the Terelrantia, was forwarded to me at the National Museum, and the present extensive contribution is the result. In this connection it may be well to state that I have incorporated here not only all of tins new material, but also considerable material in special groups, retained from previous sendings, which the late Dr. C. V. Riley had intended to work up, namely, the Eupehninm, Agaonidm, species in the genus Scelio, and the Microgasterinm, but which he was never able to even touch up to the time of the unfortunate accident that resulted in his untimely death. TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1900. — PART II. ( JULY )