Dec. i S> 1920 Opius fletcheri, Parasite of the Melon Fly in Hawaii 431 



Opius fleicheri, n. sp. 



Female. — Body ochreous yellow or testaceous, with the anterior part of tergites 

 2-6 of the abdomen brownish. Antennas, except at the apex, where they are brown- 

 ish, and legs, except the pale brown hind tarsi, of the same color as the body. Wings 

 hyaline, with the nervures in great part brown. The stigma brown, except the 

 middle part, which is yellowish white. Length of body 4.5 mm.; width of thorax 

 1.05 mm.; length of antennae 6.5 mm.; of the wings 5 mm., width of same 2 mm., 

 length of ovipositor (the part protruding) 2 mm. 



Head just a little wider than the thorax, about two-fifths wider than high, with 

 eyes large, convex, nude, reaching below almost to the level of the margin of the 

 clypeus. Face, excepting at the base of the antennae, full, and subcarinate in the 

 middle. Antennae longer than the body, attenuate, composed of 42 to 48 segments, 

 of which the scape is about five-eighths longer than the second segment. 



Thorax. — esothoracic scutum with parapsidal grooves, indistinct, nude. The 

 transverse prescutellar groove furnished with a series of about ten pits, not very deep. 

 Metanotum lightly con- 

 vex, and smooth in the 

 middle for the greater part 

 of its length, and carinate 

 for a short space behind, 

 pitted in the sides; pro- 

 podium provided with a 

 median longitudinal ca- 

 rina which divides be- 

 hind, with a sublateral 

 carina near the side, but 

 within the stigmata, 

 which are sufficiently 

 large and round . The sur- 

 face between the carinas 

 smooth . Mesopleura with 

 the longitudinal groove 

 crenulate. 



Anterior wings with the 

 discoidal cell and the first 

 cubital very large , subrec- 

 tangular, longer than the 

 second cubital, with the 

 recurrent nervure long, 

 arcuate as seen in the 

 figure. 



Abdomen suboval, with 

 the first tergite lightly 



carinate at the side and lightly rugose in the middle, 

 with a few long hairs, second suture rather distinct, 

 and straight, about as long as the abdomen. 



Male. — Similar to the female but a little smaller. 



Observations. — This species of Opius is quite distinct from the numerous species 

 I know from Palaeartic and Ethiopian faunas by the shape of the recurrent nervure, 

 and by the length of the discoidal and first cubital cells. 



Habitat. — India. Prof. Fletcher obtained examples of this species from the 

 pupae of Chaetodacus cucurbitae Coquillett, the larvae of which live in the fruits of 

 Momordica charantia L. 



Fig. 13. — Opius fletcheri: Adult female. Length 4.5 mm. 



The rest smooth and furnished 

 Ovipositor, which is very sharp 



