1- ndd 



317. 

 SPARASION FRONTALE. 



Order Hymenoptera. Fam. ProctotrupidaeA^oZ>. — Oxyuri Z/a/. 



Type of the Genus, Sparasion frontale Lat. 



Sparasion Lat., Lea., Curt. — Ceraphron Jur. 



jlntennce inserted at the base of the clypeus, longer than the 

 head, geniculated, pubescent, 12-jointed, basal joint the longest, 

 incrassated, slender at the base, the ciavola tapering to both 

 ends, 2nd joint not so short as the 4th, 3rd longer, the remainder 

 turbinate, apical joint small and conical (1), 

 Labrum undiscovered. 



Mandibles long, narrow, bidentate and slightly pilose (3). 

 Maxillce nearly meeting at the base behind the mentum, lower 

 portion horny, semiovate, emarginate towards the top, and pro- 

 ducing a membrane ciliated with bristles, some dilated at the 

 base : lobe membranous, with a small horny and pilose appendage 

 near the apex. Palpi long, 5-jointed, basal joint long, slender 

 at the base, 2nd subovate, 3rd the most robust, not so long as 

 the first, dilated and pilose on the inside, 4th and 5th hairy, as 

 long as the basal joint, 5th considerably longer (4). 

 Mentum small, pilose, subturbinate, the anterior angles trun- 

 cated obliquely, from which rise the Palpi, they are not very 

 short but pilose and triarticulate, 1st joint a little longer than 

 the 2nd, 3rd twice as long, subconic. Labium concealed behind 

 the mentum (5). 

 Head broad obtuse and produced transversely in front, appearing 

 pointed in profile (If). Eyes lateral, not large. Ocelli 3, /aro^e, 

 remote and placed in triangle. Trunk a little broader than the head, 

 obovate ; prothorax short. Scutellum rounded; postscutellum 

 bilobed. Abdomen attached by a portion of its base, but appearing 

 sessile, elliptical, depressed, 7 -jointed, the sides forming a sharp edge 

 projecting over the underside. Oviduct concealed. Wings ; supe- 

 rior rather short and broad; no costal nervure, but one running 

 parallel to it halfway, where it forms a stigma and produces a short 

 branch, 2 other longitudinal nervures are indistinct. Legs j posterior 

 the longest. Thighs not much incrassated. Tibiae rather stout and 

 short in the anterior pair, producing strong bristly spines externally, 

 with a curved spine at the apex on the inside. Tarsi longer than the 

 tibiae, b -jointed, basal joint the longest and most robust, especially in 

 the posterior pair, and beautifully pectinated on the inside, penulti- 

 mate joint the shortest. Claws and Pulvilli small (8). 



Frontale Lat. Hist. Nat. t.\3.p. 230.— Curtis' s Guide, Gen. 580. — 

 Cornutus Jur. Hyyn. pi. 13. g. 44. 



Black shining, sparingly clothed with ochreous pubescence and 

 hairs. Head and thorax coarsely punctured, having a reticulated 

 appearance. Abdomen marked with fine elevated longitudinal 

 lines on the back. Wings iridescent, tinted with brown, darkest 

 at the costa3 stigma and nervure piceous. Thighs and tibiae fer- 

 ruginous at their tips, tarsi of the same colour. 

 In the Author s Cabinet. 



