OF WASHINGTON, VOLUME XVI, 1914 81 



DIRPHYS new g^nus. 



Type: Mesidia mexicana How. Tech. Ser. 'No. 12, pt. IV, 

 Bureau of Ent., U. S. Dept. of Agr., p. 74, 1907. 



Female: Antennae eight-jointed, markedly clavate, club distinctly three- 

 jointed; the three funicle joints about equal in length, but increasing in 

 width from one to three. Eyes hairy. Mesoscutellum transverse, broader 

 than long. Fore-wings broad, with a broad distinct oblique hairless line; 

 submarginal vein unusually broad, stigmal very short and without knob. 

 Hind femora somewhat swollen. Abdomen triangular in shape seen from 

 above, ovipositor well exserted. 



It should be explained that the figure accompanying the original 

 description of D. (Mesidia) mexicana, the artist, working without 

 supervision, being confused by the presence on the same slide of 

 fragments of what appears to be a Coccophagus, the antennae in 

 particular are entirely erroneous. The description of the antennae 

 is also obviously that of the other insect. In the true Dirphys 

 mexicana the antennae are pallid with the club faintly yellowish. 



GENUS PARAPHELINUS Perkins. 



Paraphelinus Perkins. Bull. 1. part 6, Report of Work of the Experiment 

 Station of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters Assoc., Honolulu, January, 

 1906, p. 264. 



Type : P. xiphidii Perk. Loc. cit. 



Perkins's P. xiphidii was reared from the eggs of Xiphidiunt 

 varipenne Swezey. The only other species so far discovered, 

 viz.: P. speciosissimus Girault (Journ. N. Y. Ent. Soc., 1911, p. 

 181) and P. australiensis Girault (Archiv fur Naturgeschichte, 

 1913, pp. 74-75, Ab. A. 6 heft), were both described from single 

 captured specimens, so that their host relations are unknown. 

 The receipt of the new species here described from Mr. P. L. 

 Guppy of Trinidad, who reared it from the eggs of the sugar cane 

 leaf-hopper, Tomaspis varia, makes it probable that all species of 

 this interesting genus are parasites in the eggs of Orthoptera and 

 Homoptera that are inserted in twigs or canes. This would be 

 an unique feature in Aphelinine biology (the other forms all 

 ovipositing only in Coccidae, Aphididse and Aleyrodidae) were it 

 not for the old disputed species Agonioneurus locustan/n/ Giraud 

 (placed in Aphelmus by Dalla Torre) and which was described 

 by Dr. J. Giraud in his Memoir on the insects which live upon the 

 common rose (Verb. d. Zool.-Bot. ges. Wien., vol. 18, ISO)}, pp. 

 1278-1279) and which he reared from the eggs of Xiptiid/utn 

 fuscurn F. It seems to me quite possible that in the old A . lucu*- 

 tarum we may have another species of / J <//v//>//r//////N. There is 



