KEVISION OF GENUS CUPHOCEEA EEINHAED 47 



positor short, fleshy and retracted ; genitalia of the male with a large 

 platelike lobe on the side, inner forceps united, the outer ones uni- 

 formly slender. Legs ordinary in length; hind tibiae with a scat- 

 tered row of uneven bristles on outer posterior margin ; intermediate 

 fore tarsal segments sometimes dilated in the female with the pulvilli 

 short, but moderatel}'^ enlarged in the male sex. Wings uniform in 

 shape, third vein setulose one-half or more the distance to small 

 cross vein; first posterior cell open far before the wing tip; hind 

 cross vein oblique to fourth, which it joins much nearer the bend 

 than small cross vein; last section of fifth vein usually less than 

 one-half the length of preceding section; costal spine small or 

 vestigial. 



Specific characters. — The American species of Cuphocera separate 

 into two groups on the presence or absence of ocellar bristles. The 

 characters that seem most useful in separating the species are the 

 color of the pleural and parafacial hairs, ground color of the para- 

 frontals, and thoracic chaetotaxy. The structure of the male gen- 

 italia is quite distinctive for a number of forms. The width of the 

 front in relation to the total head width appears uniform within 

 narrow limits for most species, and details of the frontal bristles 

 furnish several additional minor points, especially in the male, that 

 are of some service in distinguishing the forms. Minute or rudi- 

 mentary palpi are present in only two of the known American 

 species. In the female the genitalia appear uniform in structure; 

 the ovipositor is short, fleshy, and retracted. 



There are three genera closely related to Cuphocera: Oopecrypta 

 Townsend, aside from its slender build, is distinguished mainly by 

 the characteristic transverse or erect apical cross vein ; Chiloepalpus 

 Townsend differs most obviously in having the propleura haired; 

 and Peleteria Desvoidy has about the same combination of external 

 characters, except that the palpi are well developed. 



Very little is known concerning the biology of the species belong- 

 ing to Cuphocera. The few rearings recorded indicate that the spe- 

 cies are parasitic mainly on lepidopterous larvae. 



KEY TO SPECIES OF CUPHOCERA 



1. Ocellars present 2.. 



Ocellars absent 9. 



2. Pleura clothed with pale hairs 3. 



Pleura wholly black haired 5. 



3. Cheek two-thirds to four-fifths the eye height 4. 



Cheek one-third the eye height, with silvery pollen which is 



distinctly tinged with yellow; parafacial hairs white; third 

 antennal segment strikingly enlarged, subtriangular, three 

 times as long as second (Brazil) (3) macrocera (Wiedemann). 



