290 BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. 



Head transverse -cubical, sparsely punctate, black ; frons shining, sub- 

 glabrous ; mandibles towards their apices glabrous and often piceous. 

 Antennae of c^ black, elongate, gradually sub-attenuate apically ; of ? 

 black, with basal half of flagellum testaceous. Thorax black ; pro- and 

 meta-notum scabriculous ; mesothorax and scutellum somewhat strongly 

 and sparsely punctate and nitidulous ; mesosternal sulci sub -obsolete ; 

 areola of $ traceable, sub-triangular, basally sub-elevated, often tuber- 

 culate ; petiolar area entire, strongly transverse, not apically produced, 

 its basal costa strong and in $ emarginate. Abdomen finely punctate 

 sub-glabrous and nitidulous, elongate, sub-cylindrical, broader in $ ; red, 

 with first segment, except usually its apex, more or less of fifth, and often 

 of fourth and third, with whole anus, black; post-petiole sub-aciculate 

 between the spiracles, apically finely and more or less sparsely punctate, 

 often sub-glabrous, the apical margin sub-sinuate with a small transverse 

 impression in its centre ; eighth dorsal segment shortly exserted, of $ sub- 

 truncate ; ventral segments two and three plicate, the sixth of $ large, 

 apically rounded and covering the base of the retracted terebra ; $ val- 

 vulae incrassate. Legs not elongate ; coxae, trochanters, most of the 

 femora, with, in $ , the extreme base and apex of hind tibiae, usually black ; 

 the remainder more or less fiavidous. Wings of $ somewhat small, of $ 

 normal ; stigma testaceous, basally whitish; radix and tegulae piceous. 

 Length, 11-19 mm. 



The metathorax and abdomen of the 9 are much smoother, with the 

 puncturation more indistinct than of the $, and the upper metanotal 

 areae of the former are entirely wanting ; the average size of the S is 

 much larger than that of the $ . 



The type form, as already stated, has the abdomen centrally more or 

 less red, the petiole black and the thorax immaculate. Three well-marked 

 varieties have been named : — Var. nigra is a form of the $ with the 

 whole of the abdomen, thorax, head, and often also the legs excepting 

 only the anterior tibiae, black ; sometimes, however, the legs are no 

 darker than those of typical examples. Var. semifiava has the thorax 

 with fiavidous callosities near the radix and the rufescent coloration of 

 the abdomen replaced by bright, clear flavous, and the anterior legs are 

 also pale. Var. victor appears to differ from typical $ $ in nothing but 

 the entirely red basal segment. A detailed, if somewhat involved, account 

 of these varieties, there regarded tentatively as species, is given by Stephens 

 (loc. cit.). 



Stephens records this species as common about London in June and 

 July, from the New Forest, Devonshire, Salop, Dover, Bristol, about 

 Edinburgh ; and Curtis adds Norfolk and Dunkeld. Holgate, near York, 

 in 1 88 1 (Wilson) ; the male is very common, but the female is rarely seen 

 in Norfolk (Bridgman, whose collection at Norwich contains but one 

 female^); Ivybridge, in the middle of May (Bignell) ; Epping Forest 

 (Butler) ; Eastbourne and Hastings (Esam) ; Birmingham, in June 

 (Bradley); Croydon, in June (Brunetti) ; Bonhill (Malloch) ; Shotover, 

 Oxford and Streathy in May, July, August and September (Hamm) ; 

 Carlisle, in July (Routledge); Essex (Harwood) ; Thornton, Heriot and 



1 The much greater rarity of the ? is everywliere noticeable, and is probably due to the fact that 

 they " do not appear to fly much ; they are generally found running among moss and grass, for vv hich 

 purpose their short and strong legs are well adapted," as Curtis says {loc. cit.). I have, however, seen 

 it flying vigorously about shrubs in the sunshine upon one or two occasions. 



