402 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 216 part s 



Tamalpais, 4 miles west of Quincy, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa 

 Cruz Mts. in Santa Clara Co., and Visalia); Florida (Larkins in Dade 

 Co., Orange Co., Osceola Co., and Tampa); Illinois (Chicago); Iowa 

 (Ames); Kansas (Lawrence and Manhattan); Maryland (Bowie, 

 Chesapeake Beach, College Park, Glen Echo, and Takoma Park); 

 Michigan (Ann Arbor); Nebraska (Crawford); New Jersey (New 

 Brunswick and Port Murray); New Mexico (Jemez Springs at 6,400 

 ft.); New York (Babylon, Cold Spring Harbor, Farmingdale, Nyack, 

 and Yaphank on Long Island); North Carolina (near Busick at 4,000 

 ft.. Candor, Franklin at 2,000 ft., Hendcrsonville, 4.4 miles west of 

 Highlands in Cliffside Recreation Area at 3,000 ft., Holly Shelter, 

 Raleigh, and Southern Pines); Ohio (Delaware Co., Franklin Co., 

 Montgomery Co., and Xenia); Oklahoma (Payne Co.); Ontario 

 (Toronto); Pennsylvania (Oxford); South Carolina (Greenville); 

 Texas (Dallas, Hidalgo Co., and Rosser); Virginia (Charlottesville, 

 Falls Church, Newington in Fairfax Co., and "Stubblefield Falls"); 

 Washington (Pullman); Wisconsin (Milwaukee); and Cuba (Central 

 Soledad in Cienfuegos). 



Collection dates are mostly from early summer to mid-fall. Unusu- 

 ally early and late seasonal records are: January 24 at Tulip Creek, 

 Arrow Lakes, B.C.; February 15 at Tampa, Fla.; April 11 at Cypress 

 Ridge, Marin Co., Cahf.; April 16 at Southern Pines, N.C; May 2 

 in Cheaha State Park, Ala.; May 9 at Boulder, Colo.; May 24 at 

 Franklin, N.C; June 2 at Ithaca, N.Y.; June 12 at Medicine Hat, 

 Alta.; October 11 at Yaphank, Long Island, N.Y.; October 20 and 25 

 and November 2 and 3 at Takoma Park, Md.; October 30 at "Stub- 

 blefield Falls," Va.; and December 22 at Crawford, Nebr. 



Host records on pin labels are as follows: 2 rearings from Polistes 

 apachus, 1 from P. cuhensis, 1 from P. fuscatus, and 4 from Polistes 

 sp. According to both pin label data and our field experience the 

 species is commonest from August to October. Most commonly it 

 is seen on the walls or windows of buildings. Late in the season a 

 large portion of Polistes nests contain cocoons of this parasite and one 

 has only to collect a few nests to rear out a good set of specimens. 



According to published accounts, eggs are laid on mature larvae 

 of Polistes, usually just before the cocoon is spun. The parasite 

 larvae, usually two to six per host, begin feeding just after the host 

 has spun its cocoon and pupated, concentrating on the abdomen of the 

 newly formed pupa. They may, however, feed instead on the larva, 

 before or after cocooning. The mature parasite larvae spin their 

 cocoons within the host cocoon. Gaul (1940) believes that hibernation 

 is in the adult stage, and all available evidence supports his view. 



This species occurs tlu'oughout the United States, southern Canada, 

 and Mexico. We have seen it also from Cuba. 



