SAECOPHAGA AND ALLIES 229 



esses projecting almost straight out of the apex, which 

 have one edge flattened and toothed. The four slen- 

 der processes, with the sharp tip of the distal seg- 

 ment, are very characteristic. Fifth sternite reddish- 

 brown, its basal ridge very shining, the excision wide 

 at bottom with the sides bearing brushes of stiff spines, 

 part of which are rather long. 



Legs black; middle femur with a rather loose 

 comb of spines on lower hind side near tip; middle 

 tibia not villous, with two bristles on outer front side; 

 hind femur with well-developed lower row of bristles 

 on outer side; hind tibia with rather dense villosity 

 spreading both ways. 



Wings hyaline ; no costal spine ; third costal seg- 

 ment as long as fifth and sixth togetlier; first vein 

 bare, third bristly about halfway to crossvein. 



Female. Front .334 of head (average of five, — 

 .318, .322, .328, .339, .363) ; orbitals and outer verti- 

 cals present ; lower hairs of paraf acials bristly ; bucca 

 almost half the eyeheight, with coarse black hairs be- 

 fore the metacephalic suture, whitish behind it ; scutel- 

 lum without apicals. Genital segment reddish-yellow, 

 with almost triangular orifice which is fringed with a 

 few small bristles above. The most chraacteristic 

 features of the female appear to be 4 dc, three rows 

 of black hairs behind the eye, minute or nc ant acr, 

 and fourth abdominal segment largely red toward 

 apex. It seems not to differ from that of titilis. 



Length 8 to 13 mm. 



Nearly two hundred specimens have been exam- 

 ined, many with rearing records; helicis is the only 

 species rivaling this one in the number of times it has 

 been reared. As there appears to be incontrovertible 

 evidence that this species in its larval habits runs the 

 entire gamut from scavenger to parasite, some space 

 and care have been taken to group the rearings. 



