NO. 2340. TRIBE EPHIALTINI OF THE ICHNEUMONINAE—CUSHMAN. 347 



at 8,500 feet in the Wliite Mountains of New Mexico by C. H. T. Town- 

 send, and paratype e collected at Fort Wrangel, Alaska, by H. F. 

 Wickham. Paratype h is the largest, being 9.5 mm. in length. 



EPHIALTES (ITOPLECTIS) CONQUISITOR (Say). 



Plate 21, fig. 1. 



Ci-yptus conqidsitor Say, Boat. Journ. Nat. Ilist., vol. 1, pt. 3, 1836, p. 232, female. 



Type, Lost. Neotype in U. S. National Museum. 

 Cryptus pleurivinctus Say, Bost. Journ. Nat. Hist., vol. 1, pt. 3, 1837, p. 235, 



female, male. Type, Lost. Neotype in U. S. National Museum. 

 Pimpla conquisitor Riley, 4tli Ann. Rept. Ins. Mo., 1872, p. 72, 

 Pimpla walshii Dalla Torre, Cat. Hym., vol. 3, p. 454. {=piciipes Walsh, 



Trans. Acad. Sci. St. Louis, vol. 3, 1873, p. 135, female) not Gravenhorst. 



Type, Destroyed. Neotype in U. S. National Museum. 

 Apechtis conquisitor Morley, Rev. Ichn., pt. 3, 1914, p. 32. 

 Scambus {Itoplcctis) conquisitor Viereck, Hym. Conn., 1917, p. 321. 



Discussion based on neotypes determined from each of the three 

 descriptions and a great many other specimens of both sexes. The 

 neotypes are labeled as follows: conquisitor, "Collection Belfrage"; 

 pleurivinctus, ^'35°^ Pimpla conquisitor on Th. epTie.meraejorniis, Iss. 

 Sept. 23, '82"; walshii, "301, vii. 10, East River, Conn., July, C. R. 

 Ely"; and each is further indicated by a neotype label. They agree 

 in practically every particular with the original descriptions. 



All three of the types being lost or destroyed, the only way of 

 determmmg their nature is from the descriptions. The conquisitor 

 type is rather uncommonly small, representing nearl}'^ the minimum 

 size for the species while pleurivinctus represents nearly the other 

 extreme. The latter, from description and biological notes, is un- 

 doubtedly the form of conquisitor commonly reared from the larger 

 lepidopterous pupae. The host mentioned by Say is " the common 

 folliculate Linnaean Bonibyx with transparent wings"', undoubtedly 

 Thyndopieryx epliemeraejormis, commonly a host of this species. It 

 is quite evident that Walsh's specimen was a small specimen of 

 conquisitor with a rather unusual amount of black on the legs and with 

 the apices of the tergites slightly darker than in the more typical 

 specimens. Many specimens of conquisitor have a trace of the black- 

 ish color on the front and middle tibiae and middle tarsi and the 

 apices of the tergites distinctly reddish rather than white. The 

 neotype of walshii differs from the description only in minor details, 

 the black of the legs being less distinct. 



Within its range this is probably the most common species of the 

 tribe and one of the most variable. It is always readily distmguish- 

 able from any other species by the very definite pale borders of the 

 otherwise black tergites. 



The very large series of this species available forms a good basis 

 for a study of the possible range of specific variation in the genus. 



