40 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 216 



13. Abdominal tergites more or less reddish; subbasal fuscous annulus on hind 



tibia interrupted above; front trochanter whitish. 



13. transgressus (Holmgren) 

 Abdominal tergites black; subbasal fuscous annulus on hind tibia complete. 



14 



14. Upper valve of ovipositor with a minute, median, longitudinal sulcus in region 



beyond nodus; sheath distinctly longer than abdomen; parasites of larvae 



feeding in cones of Picea 11. dioryctriae, new species 



Upper valve of ovipositor without a minute, median, longitudinal sulcus in 

 region beyond nodus; sheath not distinctly longer than abdomen; not asso- 

 ciated with cones of Picea 15 



15. Front trochanter reddish; palpi often more or less fuscous 16 



Front trochanter whitish; palpi usually entirely whitish 17 



16. Upper valve of ovipositor with a distinct nodus. . . . 14. tecumseh Viereck 

 Upper valve of ovipositor without a distinct nodus. 17. nigrifrons (Viereck) 



17. Front coxa reddish 16. hispae (Harris) 



Front coxa mostly fuscous 18. decorus, new species 



I. EPHIALTOIDES GROUP 



Head very thick; temple weakly rounded and not or only very 

 slightly receding for a considerable distance behind eye; thorax 

 elongate, subcylindrical; abdomen slender; first abdominal tergite 

 small and narrow in comparison with other tergites; sheath slender, 

 with short, fine, rather inconspicuous vestiture; ovipositor weakly 

 compressed and very slender, with nodus very weak or absent; hind 

 coxa unusually slender (not more than 0.66 times as long as deep). 



Records indicate that species of this group may be confined to an 

 association with conifers, the known rearings being exclusively from 

 the cones of Abies and Picea. 



The group contains three Nearctic species; ephialtoides, protentus, 

 and longicorpus, the last mentioned represented by two subspecies. 

 Relatively little material of any species has been available and the 

 poor condition of most of the specimens emphasizes the need for more 

 and better material to obtain a better understanding of the variation, 

 distribution, and habits. The most productive method of obtaining 

 specimens should be by rearing from collections of cones of various 

 conifers. 



1. Scambus (Scambus) protentus Walley, new species 



Figure 311, g 



Male: Front wing 6.0 mm. long; antenna with 24 segments; cheek 

 almost 0.0; mandible coriaceous at base; temple, as seen from above, 

 very broadly rounded except in region close to occiput; propodeum 

 rather long, with dorsomedial carinae very weak and not extending 

 beyond middle; front femur moderately stout, slightly flattened be- 



