296 BRITISH ICHNEUMONS [Exetasies. 



Birmingham, Plumstead, St. Ervan in Cornwall, Worksop, West Runton 

 in Norfolk, Derbyshire, Woodbridge, Bristol, Guernsey, Alderney, London, 

 Deal, Bottesford in Lines., Leeds, Wigtonshire, Solihull, Comiston near 

 Edinburgh and Ballaugh in the Isle of INIan. It is \cry common in 

 gardens at Galashiels and Ipswich, feeding freely on the flowers of 

 Heracleum and Angelica ; and is undoubtedly the E. albiditarsis of Dallas 

 (Elements of Entom. 236) — "one of the most abundant species, and one 

 which we can hardly fail to meet with hovering amongst the twigs of lilacs 

 and other shrubs in the garden, or over the hedge-plants by the way-side." 

 I have seen the female sitting perpendicularly on a sunflower leaf, cleaning 

 its antennae and mouth-parts exactly as a cat cleans its ears, etc. ; later 

 the same day it was on the highest flower of Angelica sucking the stylo- 

 pods and feeling forward with its antennae ; when they touched a 

 Microgaskr, they were elevated together, held suspended for a moment as 

 though to fully appreciate the sensation transmitted by the impact, and 

 then thrust out to feel again ; upon again touching the Braconid the 

 Exetasies swiftly moved aside to a different part of the flower, though the 

 Braconid appeared in no way pugnacious. I have seen this species on 

 flowers up to September 6th. It occurs throughout central and northern 

 Europe, extending to Lapland. 



2. nigripes, Gvav. 



Exetastes nigripes, Gr. I.E. iii. 416, excl. var. ; Ratz. Ichn. d. Forst. iii. 94 ; 

 Holmgr. Sv. Ak. Handl. 1854, p. 26; lib. cit. 1858, n. 8, p. 153; Thorns. O.E. 

 xxii. 2315, <? ? . Var. E. illusor, Gr. I.E. iii. 427; Hohngr. Sv. Ak. Handl. 1858, 

 n. 8, p. 151 ; Thorns. O.E. xxii. 2416, <r ? ; Mori. E.M.M. 1903, p. 160, ? ; cf. 

 Voll. Pinac. pi. xvii. fig. 4. 



Shining, punctate, black. Head punctate and somewhat narrowed be- 

 hind the eyes ; of 9 immaculate, of ^ usually with a mark at the 

 clypeal orbits, and another at the centre or base of the mandibles, flavous ; 

 clypeus deplanate, a little elevated basally and rounded apically ; mandi- 

 bles curved, with the teeth of equal length. Antennae setaceous, about 

 as long as the body and strongly attenuate towards their apices with the 

 basal flagellar joint one-third longer than the second. Thorax stout, 

 gibbous, punctate and narrower than the head ; metathorax rugose, or in 

 (J strongly punctate, above with the areae incomplete and spiracles 

 linear. Scutellum black. Abdomen fusiform, glabrous and nitidulous, 

 apically subcompressed, narrower than the thorax ; black with the apex of 

 the first segment and whole of the second to fourth red, or with the two 

 latter apically infuscate ; basal segment narrow, nearly thrice longer than 

 broad, slightly dilated apically, with the tubercles a little prominent ; 

 second and third of equal length, the fifth rarely basally rufescent; terebra 

 half as long again as the basal segment, with linear valvulae. Legs very 



