ceropalinae: tribe notocyphini 221 



characters indicate it a derivative of the same stock as the Psammo- 

 charinae and it may well be a polyphyletic offshoot of that group. 

 Probably many years will elapse before it can be shown with satis- 

 faction whether the present limits of the subfamily Ceropalinae is a 

 natural one. The genera included in it here agree in certain mor- 

 phological characters and have a biological similarity in that they do 

 not store spiders in nests. The Notocyphini and Minageniini, as far 

 as known, oviposit on spiders which continue to be free and active 

 until the growing wasp larva finally kills it. A few Psammocharinae 

 (e. g., Homonotus) have somewhat similar habits. The Ceropalini 

 oviposit on the spider prey of other psammocharids and thus live as 

 social parasites. Grouping these three tribes together as a single 

 subfamily emphasizes these similarities and avoids the maintenance 

 of a large number of small subfamilies. It is hoped that this arrange- 

 ment may prove a useful one. 



Key to the tribes of Ceropalinae 



1, Nervellus ending at or distad of the juncture of cubitella with discoidella; 



stigma about 2.5 as long as wide (pi. 1, fig. 12); sting decurved. 



Notocyphini (p. 221) 



Nervellus ending far basad of the juncture of cubitella with discoidella; stigma 



about 3.5 to 4.5 as long as wide (pi. 1, figs. 13, 14); sting straight .... 2 



2. Inner margins of eyes subparallel, not distinctly emarginate; labrum small, 



inconspicuously exposed Miaageniini (p. 225) 



Inner margins of eyes strongly divergent above, emarginate above the middle; 

 labrum large, conspicuously exposed Ceropalini (p. 237) 



Tribe Notocyphini 



Labrum large and exposed; eyes subparallel withm; flagellum flex- 

 ible and not unusually thickened; thorax long; propodeum long, at 

 least in the female with a long dorsal face and a well differentiated 

 posterior face; stigma small, about 2.5 as long as wide; nervellus ending 

 at or distad of the juncture of cubitella with discoidella; middle and 

 hind femora often with spinelike bristles set in pits; spinelike bristles 

 on outer apical margin of hind tibia short, regular, closely spaced, 

 and usually forming an uninterrupted row; last segment of tarsi often 

 with a median ventral row of bristles; female subgenital plate com- 

 pressed, with a median, ventral longitudinal ridge, at least apically; 

 stmg decurved. 



There are two genera known, the Oriental Minotocyphus{=Sinoto- 

 cyphus, new synonymy), and the predominately^ Neo tropic Notocyphus. 

 They differ most conspicuously in the shape of the apical margin of 

 the labrum, convexly rounded in Minotocyphus and concavely emar- 

 ginate in Notocyphus. 



347756—57 15 



