NO. 2178, THE GENUS BRACON FABRICIUS— MORRISON, 313 



median line. Below the rounded-off dorsal margins of the soutellum 

 the sides form flattened, depressed, vertical faces, which are usually 

 highly shining, and may be vertically ridged. The mesoplcura form 

 a five-sided, nearly flat area on each side of the thorax, running 

 downwards and baclcwards from below the attachments of the fore- 

 wings. Each is separated from the metapleurum by a smooth diag- 

 onal suture, wliile an incomplete, sometimes shaUow, at least partially 

 orenulated groove is all that separates the pleurum of each side from 

 the venter, and it appears doubtful if it always represents the rem- 

 nant of a suture. A strongly orenulated furrov/ parallels the hind 

 margin of the pleurum for nearly aU of its length, separating a rela- 

 tively naiTow band from the main portion, and this band appears to 

 be all that is left of the epimeron of the mesothorax. A strip along 

 the front margin, widening out strongly above, but variable in width 

 acoordmg to the species, is shghtly but sharply elevated above the 

 rest of the mesopleurum. Usually this area is more closely punctate 

 than the disk of the pleurum which is sparsely punctate and hairy. 



A sharp orenulated ridge runs along the lower part of the front 

 margm of each pleurum and continues around the same margin of 

 the venter. The pleura and sternum are sharply truncate below in 

 front, with the space thus formed curving backwards and downwards 

 from the prothorax and receiving the fore coxae. The two halves of 

 the sternum are rounded off on the sides, and separated medially by a 

 sharp orenulate furrow. The venter is usually much more closely 

 punctured and more hairy than the pleura, but there is no distinct 

 line of demarcation between the two areas as regards frequency of 

 punctuation. 



The metanotum is a transverse plate, curvmg forwards on each 

 side, with each outer hind angle rounded into a flat lobe, excavated 

 on each side of the middle, and still more just inside of the attach- 

 ment of the hind wings, Vv^hile in the middle there are three high car- 

 inae which meet medially near the caudal margin of the metanotum. 

 Two of these carinae run baclcv^^ards on each side of the middle from 

 the cephalic margin to form a triangular or nearly semicircular in- 

 closure with its base foi-^^ard, and the third ridge runs steeply, some- 

 times vertically, downwards until it almost meets a corresponding 

 ridge of the propodeum, leaving a deep notch between the metanotum 

 and the propodeum. The metapleura are roughly triangular in shape 

 with the sharpest angle pomting forward. They show no traces of 

 sutures separating the episternum and epimeron on each side, but 

 there is a deep, very coarsely crenulate, nearly vertical, furrow run- 

 ning downwards from the suture between metanotum and propodeum 

 and dividing the surface into two areas, the cephaho one long, tri- 

 angular, with the base above and the apex just above the insertion 

 of the middle coxa, and the caudal one occupying the remainder of 



