126 BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. 



croceous. The ? has the flagellum less attenuate apically than in /. 

 molitorius, the joints are shorter, the second flagellar being only slightly 

 longer than broad ; hind femora stouter, closely punctate externally, with 

 a distinct almost glabrous longitudinal impression beneath. The S has 

 the face entirely or for the most part fiavous ; antennal scape flavescent 

 beneath; pronotum sometimes pale; a triangular mark before the radix, 

 tegulae exteriorly, and radix, fiavous ; thorax ai'^d cheeks more finely and 

 feebly punctate, mesonotum less distinctly pubescent, and abdomen rather 

 narrower, than in /. mo/i/orius. Length, 14 mm. 



I consider the longitudmal furrow on the hind femora externally 

 beneath in the ? , and the black callosity beneath the radix, as well as the 

 post-scutellum, in thecJ, to constitute the most definite characters. 



Mixed with the last species but, occurring in Sweden and Germany, 

 it was likely to be found in Britain. The Rev. A. Thornley, m..\., gave 

 me a specimen, appearing to be a female of this species, which has not 

 hitherto been noted with us ; it was taken at Cadney, near Brigg, in Lin- 

 colnshire, on 13th March, 1898, doubtless during hibernation. 



15. melanotis, Holmgr. 



Ichneumon hictaioruis, varr. 8 et 9, Wesm. Nouv. Mem. Ac. Brux. 1S44, p. 57, 9 • 

 / melanotis, Holmgr. Ichn. Suec. i. 72, excl. $ ; Ent. Tidskr. iSSo, p. 76, i ; Thoms. 

 O. E. xviii. 1917 et xxi. 2392 ; Ann. Soc. Fr. 1886, p. 19 ; Berlh. lib. cit , 1894, 

 p. 644, 6 ? . 



Head a little narrowed posteriorly, frontal orbits often reddish ; $ also 

 with the mandibles in part red, angles of clypeus and sides of face stra- 

 mineous. Antennae filiform, slightly attenuate ; white-banded in ?, basal 

 joints cylindrical in $. Thorax black, $ with lines at radix fiavous; 

 areola a little longer than broad, rectangular, sub-emarginate apically. 

 Scutellum flavidous or white. Abdomen black ; $ segments two and 

 three sometimes badious-red, five or six and seven flavous-marked : $ 

 third segment only fiavous and quadrate ; post-petiole aciculate-punctate ; 

 gastrocaeli normal, intervening space strongly punctate. Legs black, 

 tibiae centrally stramineous-white, with the posterior apically black, tarsi 

 usually partly fiavous ; ? hind coxae not scopuliferous but densely and 

 coarsely punctate and apically pubescent. Wings a little clouded, often 

 fiavescent ; stigma red, tegulae especially exteriorly rufescent. Length, 

 14-16 mm. 



The ? much resembles /. exlenson'iis, with which it was confused by 

 Wesmael in 1844, but the colour of the legs, if not that of the second 

 and third segments, is quite distinct. From /. inolitoriits, which it more 

 nearly approaches, it is abundantly distinguished by the marks near the 

 radix and the structure of the posterior coxae, as well as by the rather 

 thinner antennae, the flagellum of which has the first six joints black, and 

 the more slender posterior tarsi ; the white markings of the scutellum, 

 anus and tibiae are, moreover, less pure. 



This species undoubtedly hibernates as an imago, and it is under these 

 circumstances it is usually found, which accounts for our long ignorance 

 of the $, which, of course, dies off in the autumn. It was taken under 

 the bark of a dead tree by Holmgren, who says it also occurs in meadows 

 and woods. Bignell has taken it at Bickleigh, Devon, in the middle of 



