ceropalinae: tribe ceropalini 249 



basal on the front claw of the front tarsus; claws on fore and middle 

 tarsi of female with, a large, appressed, obliquely truncate, postmedian 

 tooth; male subgenital plate broad, semicircular or sub triangular, its 

 apex rounded or emarginate, its edges turned down, often thickened; 

 female subgenital plate in profile with a projecting apical part whose 

 apex is evenly rounded ; male cerci in the form of semicircular or short 

 triangular flaps that usually protrude beyond the seventh tergite. 



This group contains two subgroups: 1. The bipunctata subgroup 

 comprising large species with the male subgenital plate rounded at the 

 apex, the head rather broad, and the finer punctures on the thorax 

 small and very dense. The Nearctic elegans, nigripes, and bipunctata 

 are included. 2. The rGbinsonii subgroup comprising usually medium 

 sized species with the male subgenital plate more or less pointed at the 

 apex, head slightly narrovv^er, and the thoracic punctation variable. 

 The propodeum is usually somewhat swollen basally, the basal swelling 

 divided medially by an impression or broad groove. The Nearctic 

 robinsonii, cubensis, and longipes and a host of Neotropic species belong 

 here. Some Nearctic representatives of the fulvipes and femoralis 

 groups are common in Mexico or range even to Panama, but all the 

 strictly Neotropic species of Ceropales I have seen belong to the present 

 subgroup. 



2. Ceropales cubensis Cresson 



Forewing of male 5 to 8 mm. long, of female 6.5 to 9 mm. long; 

 frons, mesoscutum, and mesopleuron with dense small punctures and 

 scattered large punctures, the latter averaging a little smaller than in 

 the related species longipes; propodeum tumid basally, the basal 

 swelling divided mediall^^ by a longitudinal groove that is broadened 

 basally into an impressed triangular area; apical half of propodeum 

 a little concave mediall}^ but convex next to the attachment of the 

 abdomen; median apical portion of propodeum with rather dense fine 

 punctures that are stronger and somewhat irregular medially; male 

 subgenital plate broadly lanceolate ^vith a blunt tip. The details of 

 the subgenital plate are specifically diagnostic. 



Black. Face (except small area below antennal tubercle of female), 

 clypeus (except a small median area in the female), side 0.25 of frons, 

 antennal tubercle, narrow postorbital stripe, labrum (except central 

 part in the female), scape except above (or only belov/ in the female), 

 underside of pedicel, underside of base of first flagellar segment in the 

 male, sometimes a spot on outer base of mandible, anterior callus and 

 hind margin of pronotum, rarely a small median spot on mesoscutum, 

 small central spot on scutellum, postscutellum, hind corner of thorax, 

 underside of front coxa, apical outer marks on middle and hind coxa, 

 usually the apical margins of the trochanters, front tibia and basi- 

 tarsus of male dorsally, middle basitarsus of male except at the apex, 



