THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 97 



A NEW CHALCID PARASITE ON THE COMMON BASKET 

 WORM (Thyridopteryx ephemerceformis Haworth). 



■ BY WM. H. ASHMEAD, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. 



This peculiar moth, which so perplexed the older Lepidopterists at 

 classifying, is quite common in Florida on oaks, willows, shrubs, etc. 



Full accounts of its habits, with accurate figures of the moth, cater- 

 pillar, etc., will be found in Prof. Riley's " First Mo. Report," Saunders' 

 " Insects Injurious to Fruits," and Dr. Lintner's " First N. Y. Report." 



Indeed, these authors quite fully, accurately and succinctly describe 

 the habits and parasites of this pest, and it would not now be noticed by 

 me but for the fact of my breeding from it here in Florida a Chalcid 

 parasite new to science and unnoticed by any of the above mentioned 

 authors. 



Prof. Riley, in his report, gave but two parasites, Pimpla ijiquisitor 

 Say, and Heniiteles thyridopterygis Riley. Mr. Lintner, in his work, 

 added Pimpla conquisitor Say, Chalets ovata Say, a Pteromalus allied to 

 Pteronialus pup arum L., and a fly — Tachina species — making in all six 

 parasites. 



I have now the pleasure of recording the seventh, a species novum, 



interesting from the fact that it belongs to a genus in the family Chalci- 



didcB, recognized by the abnormal shape of its first antennal joint, and in 



which heretofore but one species was known to science, and that described 



from Europe, 



Sub-fam. Eucyrtin^. 



Dinocarsis thyridopterygis, n. sp. 



$. Length .06 ; wing exp. .14 inch. Color: pale brown, abdomen 

 darker ; posterior femora and tibiae darker ; scutellum rather large, some- 

 what orange. 



Head much broader than thorax, eyes large, brown ; antennae long, 

 ii-jointed, large, strongly, sub-triangularly keeled below, the three ter- 

 minal joints white ; wings rather long and narrow, pubescent, submarginal 

 vein short, rather close to and parallel with outer margin, marginal vein 

 not extending to half the length of wing, it, with stigmal and postmarginal 

 veins, very small and about equal in length. 



Described from a specimen bred in March. 



The rearing of this Chalcid is quite interesting, as it is the first of the 

 genus recorded from North America, and the second species known. 



