372 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 216 



from Europe or was taken in West Virginia I have been unable to 

 ascertain. Nothing available under the accession number was per- 

 tinent. 



While Brauns' original description is still diagnostic for the species, 

 it should be mentioned that some of the characters given may or may 

 not be present in each specimen of pfankuchi. The areolation of the 

 propodeum which Brauns stressed shows as much or more intra- 

 specific as interspecific variation. However, the color pattern and 

 sculpture of the abdominal tergites are excellent characters for separat- 

 ing pfankuchi from other species of the novita group. Variation in 

 the degree of coloration of the light areas of the abdominal tergites has 

 been noted. Brauns refers to these pale areas as white. In the two 

 specimens before me these light areas are testaceous or castaneous 

 rather than white. The pale area on the vertral side of the hind tibia 

 is more or less broken by a fuscous area and varies with the specimens. 



The distinguishing character for this species is the finely punctate 

 sculpture of the abdominal tergites with the lack of any granulation 

 and especially on tergites 1, 2, and 3. All other species of Delomerista 

 known to me have some granulation on at least parts of the first two 

 or three tergites. 



7. Delomerista novita (Cresson) 



Figures 313,o; 327,i 



Pimpla novita Cresson, 1870, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, vol. 3, p. 145; 9 . Type: 



9 , Massachusetts (Philadelphia) . 

 Delomerista novita (Cresson) Cushman, 1925, Journ. Washington Acad. Sci., vol. 



15, p. 392. 



The definitive characters in Cresson's original description are color 

 pattern and shape of ovipositor. The latter character does not 

 separate novita, rnandibularis, and borealis. As previous^ stated, I 

 am not at all certain that more than one species is involved with the 

 three names. 7a But since I have not seen the type of rnandibularis, 

 and since, on the basis of the material at hand, I can separate novita 

 and borealis I have chosen to keep the three distinct at present. 



D. novita varies in length from 6 to 13 mm., and the ovipositor 

 sheaths from % to approximately % the length of abdomen. The 

 following parts are white or whitish and of specific importance: Palpi; 

 lateral membranous margins of abdominal tergites; tegulae; area of 

 each dorsolateral posterior corner of pronotum extending farther 

 anteriorly than ventrally; basal third of hind basitarsus; basal annulus 

 and ventral surface of hind tibia extending at least two thirds of 

 distance to apex. 



Though specimens of the novita complex from alpine areas are 

 usually borealis, four specimens, two from Mount Rainier, Washington, 



'» See footnote on page 371. 



