Ephialtes.] BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. 37 



coalesced punctures and the notauli reaching the centre ; mesopleurae 

 and their sternum nitidulous and finely though distinctly punctate, with 

 epicnemia entire and the lateral sulcus deeply impressed, sternauli wanting ; 

 metathorax scabrous and dull with the pleurae smoother and somewhat 

 shining, the disc not very strongly bicarinate to the petiolar area which is 

 neither centrally nor basally carinate ; lateral costae entire, spiracles small 

 and oval, apophyses wanting. Scutellum black, nitidulous, deplanate, sub- 

 glabrous with sparse puncturation and black pilosity. Abdomen black, 

 immaculate, parallel-sided, thrice longer and, in 9 . t^lb' ^^ broad as 

 thorax, scabrous with the apices of the segments nitidulous and transaci- 

 culate ; first segment nearly twice longer than broad and hardly constricted 

 basally, laterally explanate towards the base and apex, with no projecting 

 spiracles ; thyridii of second segment very distinct and extending obliquely 

 to near apex ; segments two to five longer than broad and laterally incras- 

 sate in the centre, though hardly tuberculate ; 9 ^vith the venter often 

 plicate throughout ; terebra three-fourths longer than the abdomen and 

 distinctly longer than the body, obviously and elongately pectinate 

 throughout ; S vahoilae stout and obtuse. Legs elongate, clear red with 

 all the tarsal joints apically nodulose ; first joint of front tarsi basally 

 excised and its calcar curved ; tarsal claws stout, curved and basally lobate ; 

 hind tibiae and tarsi subinfuscate and of equal length, latter with the apical 

 joint fully twice longer than the penultimate ; first joint of the front troch- 

 anters subconstricted at its base ; ^ with a stout, acute and prominent 

 tooth on the outer side of the intermediate coxae, its front ones sometimes 

 basally, and the hind femora apically, black. Wings subhyaline and 

 somewliat narrow ; areolet triangular and subpetiolate, nervelet punctiform ; 

 stigma clear red, though somewhat darker in the ^ ; radix and tegulae 

 rufescent, of ^ pale flavous ; lower wing with basal abscissa of the radius 

 half as long again as the second recurrent nervure ; nervellus strongly 

 postfurcal and intercepted a little above the centre. Length, 18-30 mm. 



This species is extremely closely allied to E. nianifcstator and the alar 

 venation is identical ; it was, as has already been pointed out, for long 

 mixed with it in the female sex, though the male is abundantly distinct in 

 the possession of an obvious intermediate coxal tooth. It may, however, 

 be readily distinguished by the less nitidulous face which is more closely 

 punctate, by the less distinctly bicarinate metanotum, broader 9 abdomen 

 which is centrally as well as apically plicate, the slightly longer terebra 

 which is much more elongately pectinate externally, the stout and obtuse 

 (J valvulae, the more red hind tibiae and tarsi which — it should be 

 especially noticed — are of equal length, the rather longer apical tarsal 

 joint, basally less constricted front trochanters, subpetiolate areolet, 

 punctiform nervelet, clear fulvous 9 stigma and less strongly postfurcal 

 nervellus. 



It is much rarer with us and on the Continent than E. manifcstaior, 

 though it is said to be as widely distributed and to occur from June to 

 September. Desvignes first introduced it as British in 1856, though I 

 have little faith in his female which seems to agree better with my 

 E. albispkulus. 1 possess but a single female, captured at Wyre on 24th 

 September, 1892, and kindly presented by Mr. A. IL Martineau ; liarwood 

 records it, in Vict. Hist., from Essex ; and there is a female, labelled 

 " Rannoch" in Marshall's collection (in Brit. Mus.). Taschenberg bred 

 the male of E. rex from Scsia sp/iegi/onnis and the same or the last- 

 described species from Tiypoxj'lon figulus in Germany ; Rondani adds 

 that he has also bred it in Italy from Coccyx ( Rttinia) rcsinana, L. 



