Fycnocryptus.'] BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. 269 



rather than to G. titillalor, to which Tasclieiiburg, who examined the 

 original types, assigned it. 



The $ variety aiialis, which Tschek is satisfied appertains to this 

 species, and which is much commoner in liritain than the typical form, of 

 which he possessed but a single example, has the hind legs entirely black, 

 with the tarsi often centrally white. 



Schmiedeknecht is of opinion that this species should be ascribed to 

 Graven horst, and that the previous authors confuse more than one species 

 under this name, but the latter's references to Linnaeus, Fourcroy, (Imelin, 

 Olivier and Thunberg appear to be sufificiently exact. 



The larva, Bouche tells us (Naturg. 142), is like that of G. ii/il/ator, 

 curved and cylindrical with inflated lateral margins ; white and acuminate 

 with erect isolated bristles ; the rounded head bearii two short obconical 

 antennae ; the dorsal segments are somewhat humped and the apical one 

 is narrowed ; its length is two lines. Its cocoon is grey and is intermixed 

 with dirt and fragments of wood fibre. It preys upon Bo/ys sam/'ina/is, 

 in which its larvae live, two or three together, and subsecjuently pupate in 

 close proximity to one another. 



P. peregrinator is distributed throughout Europe and extends to Algeria. 

 It is said to have been bred from Lasiocampa quercus, and to be found 

 upon flowers ; Hope sent the female to Gravenhorst from Netley ; Bridg- 

 man found it at Norwich, Brundall and Cromer, in June and August ; 

 Bignell at Exminster, at the end of July ; Hamm at Tubney and Shotover 

 near Oxford ; Fitch at Maldon in Essex ; and it is recorded from the 

 Hastings district. These notices are, hawever, very meagre since it is 

 an abundant species everywhere, and I have found it at Burwell in the 

 Cambs. fens, at Belstead and Foxhall near Ipswich, on Angelica flowers in 

 May and August ; and at Huntingfield near Faversham, on Herackum 

 flowers. In July, 1898, Mr. Bedwell and I bred a great many $ $^ 

 together with $ $ of Ga7nbriis ornniiis (a curious and suggestive circum- 

 stance !), from the cocoons of Zygaena trifolii on the long grass stems in 

 Oulton Broad in Suffolk, and in this case the parasitism was solitary, the 

 Cryptid cylindrical cocoon being spun at one extremity of the host's ; in 

 one case I found the interwoven cocoons of a hyperparasitic Apanieles 

 which failed to attain maturity. 



I possess females from Mablethorpe and Linwood Common in Lines., 

 Retford and South Leverton in Notts. (Thornley) ; Lyndhurst (Adams) ; 

 Dartmouth Park, N.W. London (Newbery) ; Blackheath and IMumstead 

 (Beaumont) ; Bournemouth (Bradley) ; \N'estbury (Charbonnier) ; Guest- 

 ling (Bloomfield); Ely (Cross) ; Tostock near Bury St. Edmunds ('luck); 

 Greenings in Surrey (\\'. Saunders) ; Kingsdcnvn in Kent (Sladen) ; Felden 

 in Herts. (FifTard) ; Shere (Capron) ; and Kerry in Ireland (The Irish 

 Naturalist, 1903, p. 68) ; St. Margaret's Bay and Huntingfield in Kent, 

 from June to September (Chitty) ; Matlock (Tomlin) ; New Forest (Miss 

 Chawner). The var. ana/is of the male has occurred to me plentifully on 

 flowers o{ Ileracleiim sphondy/ium, in June and July, and sometimes flying 

 low over damp grass, towards the end of May, at Wicken and Burwell 

 Fens in Cambridge, Oxshott in Surrey ; Hramford, Orwell, \\ herstead, 

 Mildenhall, Farnham, Henstead, Bentley Woods, l'"oxhall and Barham in 

 Suffolk. Evans took the female at St. Davids in Fife, in June, 1900. 



