Asitphrommus] BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. 313 



before its centre; basal nerx-ure exactly continuous; parallel ner\'ure 

 emitted a little above centre of the not very acutely angled discoidal cell ; 

 ner\ellus not at all intercepted. Length, 5-6 mm. 



Described from. Sweden; Bridtrman records it (Tr. Xorf. Soc. 1894 el 

 Tr. Ent. Soc. 1886, p. 354) from Lakenham in Norfolk during August. 



10. plagiatus, TJionis. 

 Astiphronniius plagiatus. Thorns. Ann. Soc. Ent. France, 18S5, p. 332, i ? . 



Black with the mesostemum and legs stramineous, the apices of the 

 hind tibiae somewhat broadlv nigrescent, the metathoracic costae com- 

 plete, and a central abdominal plaga broadly pale testaceous. Length, 

 5 mm. 



Similar to A. tenuicornis in its colour, wings and slender conformation, 

 but with apices of the hind tibiae somewhat broadly nigrescent and the 

 scutellum red. 



"Patria: Suecia, Anglia" (Thorns. /.f.); bred by Bignell from Odonio- 

 pera hiihniaia in 1882 (Tr. Ent. Soc. 1886, p. 353) through Apantdcs jutti- 

 pcraiai (Buckler, vii). I have four Surrey males in Capron's collection : 

 on 17th ^lay, igoi, a wann sunless day, I beat another from young birch 

 trees about seven feet high in Assington Thicks in south Suftolk : and I 

 have seen others bred bv Lvle in the New Forest hyperparasitically from 

 Ciihf^'i pustTiia through Campoplex fot'colafus. 



MESOCHORUS. Gravcnhorst. 

 Gr. I.E. ii (1829), 960; Thorns. Ann. Soc. France, 1SS5, p. 332. 



Head with an impressed sulcus between the eyes and mandibular base; 

 frontal orbits usuallv distinctly pale. Thorax with all the costae com- 

 plete. Scutellum with its basal fovea somewhat broad. Abdominal post- 

 petiole not often laterally margined, its disc nearly nude; anal siyls apic- 

 allv obtuse, subcapitate and uncommonlv subulate. L'pper wings with 

 the basal nervure usuallv continuous through the median and the parallel 

 nervure always emitted above centre of the brachial cell ; lower ones 

 without any trace of nervellus. 



As remarked in my notes under the present Tribe, several of the species 

 described by both our, and the Continental, older authors are not yet 

 satisfactorilv synonymi.sed ; and some interesting work yet remains to be 

 done in this direction by anyone fortunate enough to come at Haliday's 

 types, which I have failed to find during a search through such of his 

 collection as now remains in the Dublin Museum of Science and Art, or 

 those of Curtis' British Entomology, the Hymcnoptera of which need 

 overhauling by our Australian cousins. I have met with no confirmation 

 of Fitch's remark (Entom. 1880, p. 257) that it is "recorded, and has 

 been obsened in this countr)-, that species of Aftsoc/iorus are external 

 parasites on various insects"; he says they are certainly hyperparasitic 

 on different Orders, meaning that they constantly prey upon other para- 

 sitic Hymcnoptera, which themselves attack Diptera, Tenthredinidae and 

 Coleoptcra, but principally Lepidoptera. Little attention has been paid 

 to this group, either here or abroad, and the following table comprises 

 only such species as have been recorded. V2 



