NO. 234y. REVISION OF NEARCTIC APANTELES—MUESEBECK. 485 



CLASSIFICATION. 



Superfamily ICHNEUMONOIDEA. 



Family BRACONIDAE. 



Subfamily Microgasterinae. 



Genus APANTELES. 



Apanteles Foerster, Verb, naturh. Yer. pveuss. Rheiiil., vol. 19, 1SG2, p. 245. 

 — ViERECK, Pruc. Eut. Soc. Wash., vol. 11, 1909, p. 208 



Pseudapanieles Ashmead, Proc. Eiit. Soc. Wash., vol. 4, 1897, p. 166. 



Protapantcles Ashmead, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., vol. 4, 1897, p. 166. 



Parapanfcles Ashmead, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 23, 1901, p. 131. 



Cri/ptapanteles Vieeeck, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., vol. 11, 1909, p. 209 {= Apan- 

 teles Ashmead, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., vol. 4, 1897, p. 166, not Foerster). 



Urogaster Ashmead, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., vol. 4, 1897, p. 166 {=Aimntelcs 

 Ashmead, not Foerster). 



Apanteles {DoUchogcnidca) Vierkck, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mas., vol. 40, 1911, 

 p. 173. 



Stenopleura Viereck, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 40, 1911. p. 1ST. 

 Head usually transverse, rarely rostriform; occiput immargined; 

 antennae slender, 18-segmented ; eyes strongly hairy; thorax stout, 

 broad; mesoscutiim without parapsidal furrows, very rarely with the 

 furrows evident posteriorly ; propodeum usually more or less rough- 

 ened, with or without a median longitudinal carina, sometimes incom- 

 pletely areola ted; anterior wing with the marginal cell open, only 

 the first abscissa of the radius being present ; second transverse cubi- 

 tus entirely wanting, so that the second cubital cell is open behind ; 

 legs normal; abdomen sessile, varying in form from broad and de- 

 pressed to very slender and strongly compressed; the two basal ab- 

 dominal tergites usually more or less sculptured; ovipositor sheaths 

 varying in length from subexserted to longer than the abdomen, 



Ajyanteles belongs to the genuine Microgasterinae; it is, however, 

 readily separated from Microffaster and MicropUtis^ its nearest allies, 

 by the total absence of the second transverse cubital nervure in the 

 fore wing. 



Believing Apanteles in the broad sense to be one homogeneous 

 group, and not susceptible of division into distinct smaller groups, 

 as first suggested by Ashmead and later followed to some extent by 

 Viereck, I have disregarded entirely the names proposed by Ashmead 

 and Viereck, which are listed above in the synonymy ; it has not even 

 seemed advisable to retain them as subgenera because they merge so 

 completely into one another. 



Because of the large number of species in this genus, and because 

 the differences between species are in many cases very slight and not 

 well marked, and, furtlier, because of the wide variation often found 

 among individuals of the same species, the preparation of a work- 

 able key has been attended by serious difficulties. Without the aid 

 of a large amount of biological data available, particularly at the 



