BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. lOI 



ig. lepidus, Grav. 



Ichneumon lepidus, Gr. I. E. i. 349 ; Wesni. Nouv. M(^m. Ac. Brux. 1844, p. 98, 

 excl. ? ; Mem. couron. Ac. Belg. 1S59, p. 45 ; Holmgr. Ichn. Suec. i 177 ; Thorns. 

 Ann. Soc. Fr. 1S88, p. 109; Berth, lib. cit. 1895. p. 246, (5 9- /• suavis, excl. var. i, 

 Gr. I. E. i. 348, ? . Barichneumon lepidus, Thorns. O. E. xviii. 1962, {, ? . Var. 

 Ichneumon fallax, Gr. I. E. i 351, J. 



Extremely like B. vesiigator. Head somewhat strongly punctate, black ; 

 frons slightly convex ; clypeus sparsely punctate, apically sub-sinuate ; $ 

 with mandibles, and sometimes apex of clypeus, reddish ; ^ with frontal 

 orbits very rarely white. Antennae of ? sub-filiform, dilated beyond the 

 middle, which is white-banded, basal joints often reddish ; of $ attenuate, 

 more or less reddish beneath. Thorax dull, strongly punctate, black ; the 

 pronotum of $, white, of 9 sometimes rufescent ; $ rarely has a white 

 callosity beneath the radix ; sternauli distinct ; metanotum more finely 

 punctate, with the areae complete, the costulae sometimes indistinct; 

 areola sub-hexagonal, apically emarginate. Scutellum sparsely punctate, 

 shining, white ; post-scutellum sometimes rufescent in $ . Abdomen of 

 $ sub-cylindrical, broader posteriorly, somewhat dull and a little strongly 

 punctate; red, fourth and fifth segments, sometimes also first of c?, black; 

 six and seven, sometimes five of $ , dorsally white ; post-petiole never 

 closely, usually strongly and sparsely punctate, sometimes sub-glabrous 

 with the punctures obsolete, often strongly nitidulous, the carinae not 

 strong and the apex rectangular ; gastrocaeli of 3 very distinct, longi- 

 tudinal, twice longer than broad, shining, of $ small. Legs as in B. 

 vestigator. Wings slightly clouded ; stigma and nervures piceo-fuscous ; 

 tegulae and radix piceous, the former often with a white dot in front in $ ; 

 areolet narrowed above ; $ with apex of radial nervure straight. Length, 

 8-12 mm. 



It differs from the preceding species in many inconspicuous points, 

 which are more or less constant, and of which the conformation of the 

 gastrocaeli is probably the most reliable. The frons is less rugosely and 

 more evenly punctured, and in the female slightly convex, with the 

 flagellum nearly always tricoloured, the first flagellar joint being shorter 

 than the scape ; the post-petiole is much more sparsely punctate, often 

 shining, and the puncturation of the second and third segments is also 

 finer, and they are more shining ; the gastrocaeli are larger and extend 

 much further from the base in the male, whose head is very rarely white- 

 marked at all, and tarsal claws stouter, its mesonotum is more convex 

 anteriorly, and the abdomen broader in its apical third. I am not, how- 

 ever, convinced that the species are distinct. 



The female appears to be comparatively constant in its markings, but 

 the colour of the male is very variable, especially that of the legs ; that of 

 the head is sometimes white in the facial, frontal, and rarely even the 

 vertical, orbits ; the antennae are occasionally sub annulated with white 

 (yzx.fallax) ; and the petiole is red or black. 



It occurs as frequently as tiie preceding, and I have always taken it in 

 marshy places ; Tuddenham Fen, Suffolk, in June ; Filby Broad, and the 

 var. fallax, at Eaton, near Norwich, in June ; Lyndhurst, Hants., in 

 August. Brundall and Norwich (Bridgman) ; Giffnock, early in June 

 (Dalglish) ; Bignell did not meet with it in Devon, but he tells me 



