66 BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. [Pimpla. 



piceous, with its base obscurely testaceous ; nervellus opposite and inter- 

 cepting exactly in the centre. Length, 9- 1 1 mm. 9 only. 



There appears to me to be some confusion on the Continent among 

 P. detrita, P. sagax and the present species, which does not quite corres- 

 pond with any described by Schm. This is a large insect always of 

 between nine and eleven millimetres, with both the thorax and abdomen 

 stout and subfusiform ; the wings always somewhat strongly yellow ; the 

 hind tibae and usually their tarsi immaculate red, with the onychii not at 

 all dilated. P. detrita (to which M. A. Roman, of the Stockholm Museum, 

 would refer P. robiistd) is described by Holmgren as being similar to, with 

 the abdomen subcylindrical and in conformation resembling, P. angens ; 

 with a total length of from three to four lines only ; the wings simply a 

 little infumate ; the hind tibiae apically and before the base, and the 

 apices of their tarsal joints always, infuscate and the onychii a little 

 dilated. All these points of the latter agree perfectly with my P. detrita, 

 which (I am told) is known abroad as P. sagax, Htg. ; but the latter, of 

 which 1 only know the ^ , has the front tibiae very strongly arcuate and 

 not, as Thomson very truly says of P. detrita, " ^ tibiis anticis fere rectis 

 descedens " (O. E. 754). The present species is most closely related to 

 P. similis and the piceous-stigma form of P. brevicorni^. The J is pro- 

 bably not uncommon, but mixed among those of P. hrevicorni% ; I do not 

 know it. 



This is by no means an unconnnon species with us ; it first occurs on 

 the flowers of Heraceleum sphondylium, in the south of England as early as 

 26th June, and extends on those oi Angelica sylvestris till 26th September ; 

 it is also found on Cnicus palustris flowers and by sweeping reeds, nearly 

 always in marshy places. I have found it at Foxhall, Barnby Broad, 

 Southwold, Henstead and Monks' Soham, in Suffolk ; Matley Bog, in 

 the New Forest and Ningwood, in the Isle of Wight ; and have received 

 it from Lyndhurst (Adams), Finborough Park and Tostock (Tuck), LeA\is- 

 ham (Beaumont), Greenings (W. Saunders) and Shere (Capron), Lynmouth 

 and Horfield, near Bristol (Charbonnier), Felden (Piffard) and Ripley 

 (Bedwell). Upon one or two occasions 1 have noticed it investigating 

 the Angelica seeds, as is noted under P. detrita. 



9. Taschenbergi, D.-T. 



Pimpla nigriccps, Tasch. Zeits, Ges. Nat. 1863, p. 266 ; Schm. Zool. Jahrb. 

 1888, p. 505, ? (ncc Brulle). P. Taschenbergi , Dalla-Torre, Cat. Hym. iii. 451 ; 

 Schm. Opusc. Ichn. 1084, ? , 



Flavidous red. Head entirely black ; face with white pilosity. Anten- 

 nae brunneous. Thorax red, with a line before the radix flavidous and 

 some of the sutures black ; areae incomplete, spiracles circular. Abdomen 

 red with the terebra black and hardly longer than half the abdomen. 

 Legs red ; hind ones with the base of the femora, the apex and a mark 

 before the base of the tibiae, and the apices of the tarsal joints, obsoletely 

 infuscate ; apical tarsal joint hardlv thrice length of penultimate, claws 

 basally lobate. Stigma, radix and tegulae flavidous ; nervellus distinct 

 and intercepting hardly below the centre. Length, ii\ mm. 



The (J is still unknown, and the 9 has not been found since it was 

 described by 'J'aschenberg from Halle, in Saxony. I consider it extremely 

 probable that this 9 is entirely synonymous with P. diluta, Ratz., which 

 its author did not know and from which it appears to diff"er solely in the 



