A KEY TO THE SPECIES OF PROSPALTELLA, WITH TABLE 

 OF HOSTS, AND DESCRIPTIONS OF FOUR NEW 



SPECIES. 



Bv L. (). Howard. , 



The genus Prospalta, of the subfamily ApheHninae, was 

 founded by the writer in 1894 (Insect Life, Vol. VII, p. 6) for P. 

 murtfeldtii How., a parasite of Aspidiotus u\-ae and other Dias- 

 pine scales. Since that time other species have been described 

 by Zehntner, Masi, Girault and the writer. Ashmead, noticing 

 that the generic Prospalta was preoccupied in Lepidoptera (Walk- 

 er, 1857,) proposed as a substitute the name Prospaltella in Pro- 

 ceedings Entomological Society of Washington, Vol. VI, p. 126, 

 1904. The descriptions are so widely separated in different pub- 

 lications that, for the sake of convenience in determination work, 

 the following synoptical key has been drawn up. Masi, in Vol. 

 Ill, of his important Contribuzioni all Conoscenza dei Calcididi 

 Italiani (Portici, 1908), gives it as his opinion that P. tristis 

 Zehnt., belongs rather to the genus Coccophagus; but the writer 

 fortunately possesses cotypes of this species sent him by Doctor 

 Zehntner, and is able to state that the species was correctly placed 

 by its describer. 



Genus Prospaltella Ashmead, 1904. 

 Prospalta Howard, 1894 (preoccupied). 



1. Forewing with a trace of a very short pointed marginal vein, its lower 



margin curving stronglv towards base of wing and then outwards to 

 form outer border of stigmal similis Masi 



Forewing with upper margin of stigmal vein reaching wing margin at a 

 point very slightly distad of its slightly reentering curve, thus 

 faintly indicating a post marginal 2 



Forewing without the slightest tendency towards a post marginal 3 



2. Forewings nearly hyaline, sometimes very faintly ditsky below marginal 



vein, occiput yellow koebelei n. sp. 



Forewing with a very pronounced broad dark band below marginal 



vein, occiput with a broad transverse black band quercicola n. sp. 



3. Upper margin of stigmal vein reaching wing margin by a gradual proximal 



curve 4 



Marginal vein squarely truncate, stigmal proceeding from anal ])ortion 



of truncation maculata How. 



Marginal vein convexly truncate, upper margin of stigmal nearly jiarallel 



with wing margin " 5 



4. Flagellum of antennae distinctly clavate 6 



Flagellum nearly filiform 7 



5. Wings nearly hyaline, only very faintly infuscated; legs uniformly ])allid; 



antennae concolorous tristis Zehnt. 



Wings with a pronotmced infuscated patch below marginal vein; legs 



and antennae banded .9 



Wings nearly uniformly infuscated, legs banded, flagellum dark with 



slightly lighter tip to club ...'.. .fuscipennis Girault. 



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