GUESTS AND PARASITES OF HALICTUS. 23 



Halictiis. When captured it made no attempt to fly, the wings 

 evidently being too much atrophied to be of functional use. 



This form can be readily recognized by its short wings. It 

 does not seem to be very closely related to any of the other 

 North American species. 



Scelio ovivorus Riley. 



This large and coarsely sculptured Scelionid was originally 

 bred by Scudder from the eggs of the common New England 

 grasshopper {Dissosteira Carolina) so that its occurrence is evi- 

 dently not connected with the presence of the Halictns colony. 

 Nevertheless it was often seen intermingling with the bees. 



Family Diapriid^. 

 Loxotropa ruficornis Ashmead. 

 This is a common species always to be found on the breeding 

 ground of these bees. Its habits have already been noted in the 

 preceding part of this paper. 



Family Bethylid/e. 

 Empyris subapterus sp. nov. 



i^6v;m/6'.— Length, 3.25 mm. Black, head and thorax subopaque, ab- 

 domen shining ; antennae, mandibles at tips, palpi, tegul^ and extreme 

 tip of abdomen rufous ; sparsely pale pubescent. Head about one third 

 longer than wide, closely and- finely punctate with fewer larger punctures 

 intermixed. Antenna; reaching about to the tegulae, scape stout and 

 curved three times as long as its thickness at the tip ; following jomts of 

 about equal length, except the first flagellar, which is shorter ; pedicel more 

 slender the other joints slightly wider than long. Eyes hairy, ocelli 

 present. Prothorax sculptured like the head, with a transverse impressed 

 hne anteriorly. Mesonotum very short, less than half as long as wide, 

 without grooves or furrows. Tegulae rufous. Scutellum basally with a 

 deep transverse linear fovea. Metanotum about one and one half times 

 as Ion- as wide, with a median longitudinal carina and a fainter one close 

 on eac'h side of it anteriorly, also a lateral and an apical carina present ; 

 surface elsewhere finely transversely rugulose ; posterior face sharply 

 dedivous, shining and punctulate. Wings abbreviated,^ just attaining the 

 apex of the metanotum ; with a small stigma near the apex, a narrow, 

 submarginal cell and an equally long but wider basal cell ; costal margin 

 frinaed Legs, including the coxae, dull rufous. Abdomen polished black, 

 the margin of the penuUimate segment and the apical half of the last seg- 

 ment ferruginous. 



1 For figure see BiOL. Bull., 1903, p. 189, Fig. 2. 



