Paniscus] HRITISIl ICHNEUMONS. 287 



PANISCUS, Sclirank. 

 Schr. r.r.. ii. (1802), liKS* 



Colour mainly tcstacXHjiis. Head of variable shape, with e\es lartfe, 

 black and cniarginate next the scrobes ; oct'Ui ol variable si/.e, small and 

 central or lart^e and occupying whole vertex ; cheeks short or absent ; 

 mandibles weak, with upper tooth much the longer; palpi elongate; 

 clvpeus more or less deeply discretcd ; occipital costa often wanting. 

 Antennae setaceous or subfiliform, always slender and rarely longer than 

 body ; scape excised, pedicellus not small, anncllus distinct. Thorax 

 somewhat short and sometimes slender ; notauli entire or apical, rarely 

 deeply impressed ; metathorax short and finely transaciculate, with circu- 

 lar or oval spiracles ; basal transcarina always wanting, the apical usually 

 mori' or less distinct laterally near the obsolete apophyses. Scutellum 

 laterally carinate, throughout or to centre or only at base. Abdomen 

 somewhat strongly compressed apically in 9 ; basal segment not laterally 

 margined with deeply impressed basal lateral foveae or sulci, its spiracles 

 at the apical third ; terebra as long as basal segment or not longer than 

 anal breadth. T.egs slender and not short; tibiae externally sparsely 

 spiiiuldse ; calcaria elongate and inequal in length ; claws densely pecti- 

 nate, not small and longer than puhilli. Wings large and hyaline with 

 stigma conspicuous and not narrow ; areolet nearly always entire, nar- 

 rowly triangular, emitting the bifenestrate recurrent nervure from its 

 apex ; apical abscissa of radius basally strongly curved and subcontinuous 

 with inner nervure of areolet ; nervelet obsolete or wanting; upj)er basal 

 nervuri- nt'arly straight; the lower continuous, slightly antefurcal or 

 strongly ])ostlurcal ; nervellus intercepted above its centre. 



As Hridg.-Fitcli truly say "the species of Paniscus are amongst the 

 commonest of our Ichneumons, but they are rather difficult to distinguish ; 

 they bear considerable resemblance to the species of Op/iioii in many 

 ri'spects, but the neuration will at once distinguish them." This resem- 

 blance, howexer, is as Scliin. points out, rather one of colour than cif 

 structure; he Remarks upon certain analogy with Pcrilissus (which is 

 superficial), as well as with both the Mcsoclwriui and Banchini, between 

 whicli there can be no doubt is their most natural location and the late 

 period at which this fact has been demonstrated must be assigned to the 

 exotic and oriental distribution of the connecting genera, with which I 

 was not ar(]uainl((l when ((jnijjiling the third volume c^f Ichn. Urit. 



The iicculiar and iiilerrsting ektt)i)arasitism ot iln- prcMiit genus has 

 rendered its economy so easy of observation that wc have a great ninnber 

 of important facts recorded respecting its habits in all stages o'i growth. 



Hcrr I-Tankiicli informs me (»« Ut. i9i3.nnd I have since coniirnied the statement) tliat Sclirank 

 terms this «eiiiis I'aiiisciis, or VVehrivolf, in tlie margin of tlie pane cittd (f/. " Revision," ii. 102). 



In working throuKli this Kenus, I discovered a koo<1 many examples of J'ii(tiiof>.iilii sliclica (Icliii. 

 Urit. iv. 274) mixed therein and quite overlooked am»n»; iny previous reconls, to wliich aiiil : — i.yu'l- 

 hurst in May and July (.\dains), Ainpton in west Suliolk (Nurse), Hasiiuys (l-.s.im). 1-eliien (I'lllard), 

 Leiyh near Bristol in June (Cliarlioniiier), an<l South I.everlon in Notts ( Ihoridey). It occurs 

 sparingly ahout bushes m woody places in company witli t'liiiisciis lutuiiaula, from the middle of May 

 to early Julv. when I have taken it-once attracted by Cosiiis-borinKS in an oak tree— at the Bcntley 

 Woods and Henstea<l ni Sidlolk. The pectinate tarsi, general Conformation, alar neuration and 

 testaceous cohjur render it extremely like I'anisciis, from whicli it is best distiiiKnishcd by the dis- 

 tinctly curved upper basal nervure and subcubical head. The lower basal nervure varies from 

 elonKately postfurcal to subcontinuous with the upper ; the areolet diflers little in shape, but the 

 external radial nervure is basally straighter and claws smaller. 



