34 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.63. 



three to five equally long, six shorter, equal in length to seven; seven 

 broadly rounded apically; wings slightly infuscated, reaching a little 

 beyond the apex of the abdomen. Shining black ; antennae and legs 

 dark brown. 



Type locality. — Ottawa, Canada. 



Type.—C&t. No. 2304, U.S.N.M. 



Redesoribed from the type male in the National Museum. Noth- 

 ing is known of the habits of the speoies. 



Only one male of this species is in the national collection but in 

 the series as arranged by Ashmead there were four females labeled 

 as this species by Ashmead. These specimens were collected on grass 

 May 19, 1886, by F. M. Webster and had been labeled by Ashmead 

 as types and assigned along with the male the museum type No. 

 2304. That they can not be types is obvious because the types 

 were " received from Mr. W. H. Harrington " and collected at Ottawa, 

 Canada. 



Ashmead's description of the female ^^ joes not agree with the 

 male type and seems to have been based on these four females. 



This is one of the most remarkable species in the genus Platygaster. 

 I know of no other in which the head is narrower than the thorax 

 and of such an extraordinary shape. Ashmead's description gives no 

 hint as to the true structure of the type and is a good example of his 

 futile methods of description. 



5. PLATYG ASTER MELLISCAPA (Ashmead), 



Polymecus melliscapus Ashmead, Bull. 45, U. S. Nat. Mus., 1893, p. 282. 



Female. — Length 2.8 mm. Head seen from above slightly over 

 twice as wide as long, about as wide as the thorax across the tegulae ; 

 seen from in front the head is the width of the eye wider than high ; 

 occiput rugosostriate ; vertex subacute, strongly and coarsely trans- 

 versely striate; cheeks strongly shagreened, rough; space above dorsal 

 one-fourth of eyes to striae on vertex, strongly shagreened, below 

 this area to the antennae strongly transversely striate; projection 

 between the bases of the antennae wider than long, truncate apically; 

 antennae stout, the flagellum gradually incrassated toward tip; scape 

 as long as the next five joints united, not much curved, slightly 

 swollen apically; pedicel about twice as long as wide, nearly as long 

 as the next two joints united; third joint as wide as long, narrowed 

 basally, slightly narrower than and a third shorter than the fourth 

 which is one-fourth longer than wide and a little longer than the fifth ; 

 fifth about as wide as long, approximately as long as the sixth; seventh 

 about as wide as long, narrowed slightly basally; eighth and ninth a 

 little wider than long, as wide as the seventh; last joint one-third 



»*Bull. 45, U. S. Nat. Mus., 1893, p. 325 



