14 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



mented with piceous markings which are wanting in basilaris. There is 

 generally less yellow on the legs, cheeks, collar, scutellum, basal plates 

 and abdomen {basilaris % sometimes has spots on the ist, 2nd and 3rd 

 segments) of dubius than of basilaris ; but these characters vary in both 

 species. 



Both species occur in New England from the latter part of July to the 

 latter part of August, dubius frequenting the low grounds, basilaris the 

 hills. 



A RARE XIPHIDRIA AND ITS PARASITE. 

 XlPHIDRIA ATTENUATA $ . 



X. attenuatiis Nort., Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila., i., p. 144 (1862), £. 

 " " Trans. Am. Ent. Soc, ii., p. 354, £ . 



$ . Head and thorax black ; tibiae and tarsi pale ; wings hyaline ; 

 abdomen red, with six yellow spots. Length 0.40 in. ; expanse 0.64 in. 



Antennae 16-jointed, black, piceous beneath, especially towards tip. 

 Face below and between antennae, palpi and base of mandibles, fulvous. 

 Eyes, except for a short space above, bordered with yellow, the border 

 covering nearly the whole cheek and the anterior and posterior borders 

 extending backwards to meet on the edge of the occiput, thereby enclosing 

 a spot above the eyes which is black in the centre but shading through 

 piceous into the yellow borders. Space about the ocelli finely rugose, 

 with delicate ridges radiating from each ocellus ; vertex behind ocelli 

 polished. A pit or deep puncture midway between lower ocellus and the 

 insertion of antennae. Thorax closely and finely rugulose, scutellum and 

 enclosure on basal plates polished. Tegulae, minute spots before tegulae, 

 one each side above anterior wing, and the cenchri, yellow. Trochanters, 

 tips of coxae and of femora dull yellow ; femora piceous, posterior pair 

 black ; basal half of tibiae and basal joints of tarsi, except at tip, yellow; 

 the remainder of tibiae and tarsi fulvous, becoming brownish on the pos- 

 terior tibiae. Wings hyaline, iridescent, nervures and stigma pale piceous. 

 Basal half of the first segment of abdomen black and roughened with fine 

 confluent punctures ; the remainder of this segment and portions of the 

 terminal segment are darker than the other segments of the red polished 

 abdomen. A yellow spot on each side of segments three, four and seven, 

 those on the seventh segment being the largest. Sheath of the ovipositor 

 black ; abdomen beneath, except at base of ovipositor, red. 



