VAP0RER MOTHS PARASITES. 217 



niinent, rounded, tinged with golden-yellow, with an elevated line on each 

 side at its base, extending obliquely forward and outward upon the thorax. 

 The abdomen is purplish-black, very smooth and polished, shorter than the 

 thorax, short cylindrical with rounded ends, depressed above and in the dried 

 specimen deeply excavated and boat-like. Near its base is a pale yellow band 

 occupying the apex of the basal segment above and beneath, and nearly or quite 

 interrupted upon each side. The legs are yellowish-white, including the ante- 

 rior haunches, the tips of the feet being black. The shanks are without con- 

 spicuous spines at their tips, and the feet are composed of four cylindrical, 

 nearly equal joints, each joint having a coarse bristle at its tip on the upper 

 side. The wings are clear and glassy, with numerous minute punctures except 

 upon the basal part, each puncture yielding a fine bristle. A broad glabrous 

 stripe extends along the inner margin of the fore wings, in which is a single 

 row of equidistant punctures and bristles. The fore wings are destitute of 

 veins/except a robust one of a pale color near the outer margin, which unites 

 with the margin through about one-fourth of the length of the wing, separating 

 from it again towards the tip, where it ends in a short branch or stigma which 

 is slightly thickened and notched at its apex. 



Another parasitic insect, so much like the preceding in all its 

 details that it might be regarded as its brother reared at the 

 same table, I met with upon rose leaves in September last, where 

 it was very probably searching for these same caterpillars in 

 which to deposit its eggs. In the Country Gentleman this was 

 named 



The Brother parasite, (Trichogrammal fraterna.') It is 0.10 in length 

 and its wings when extended are 0.15 across. The thorax is much less rough 

 than in the foregoing species, being very minutely shagreened and the abdomen 

 is of the same brilliant brassy-green color as the thora£, without any pale spot 

 or band towards its base, its under side being black. The sub-marginal vein 

 of the fore-wings is also black, and is united with the margin two-thirds of its 

 length, with the stigmal branch quite short and more conspicuously notched 

 at its end. In all other respects the description given of the preceding species 

 applies to this also. 



By these parasites, and probably other means of which we 

 are yet in ignorance, the vaporer moths of our country are crip- 

 pled and restrained from becoming so numerous as they other- 

 wise would be. In the vicinity of my residence I have never 

 known them to be sufficiently multiplied to merit any attention 

 on account of the depredations they commit. I should judge I 

 had never met with a half dozen of the caterpillars in any one 

 year, until last summer (1855), when they were noticed as being 

 unusually common. This is probably near the northern extreme 

 of their geographical range. In districts farther south and east, 

 where the climate is warmer, they are much more numerous and 



