322 BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. IMesochorus 



coarclate, uitii complete upper areae ; thorax inaryiiied witli, or mainly, 

 red; petiolar area short with its centre a little loni^^er than sides. Scutel- 

 lum always black. Abdomen smooth, longer than head and thorax ; basal 

 segment slightly curved, centrally elevated ; petiole not narrow, basally 

 dark lerrugineous, with a small sulcus before the spiracles; second seg- 

 ment apically rufescent and the remainder fulvidous-Jlavous, of J some- 

 what variable in colour ; V with second and third segments subquadrate ; 

 terebra shorter than basal segment, black and apically pale. Legs flavous 

 with the hind tibiae basally, and more broadly apically, nigrescent; hind 

 tarsi not dark; claws submutic and extending beyond pulvilli. Wings 

 hyaline, with stigma nigrescent and tegulae whitish ; basal nervure 

 continuous and areolet large, emitting recurrent nervure a little before its 

 centre ; parallel nervure emitted a little above centre of brachial cell. 

 Length, 8-9 mm. 



Schmiedeknecht says it is distinguished from its immediate allies by the 

 robust form, entirely black thorax and inpectinate claws. 



He has often taken it in Thuringia, it was described from Sweden and 

 Brischke bred it from Cuciillia argentea through ]\Iiciogasicr species, from 

 Dasychira seleniiica through Rhogas species, and from larvae of Hypono- 

 vieiifa malincUa. I have not recognised it among my British examples of 

 this genus ; though Bignell twice met with it in Devon : bred at the end 

 of June from Hybeniia progcmmaria through Limmria erucator; and 

 " captured piercing Eupithccia castigata that had within it Agrypon clandcs- 

 iiniim, which I bred loth September" (Devon List ei Entom. 1881, 

 p. i + i). 



10. confusus, Hohngr. 



Mesoclwnis splcndidithis, Ratz. Ichn. d. Forst. i. 148 (partim, iicc Grav.) ; 

 Holmgr. Sv. Ak. Handl. 1854, p. 59. M. confiisiis, Holmgr. ///;. cit. 1858, p. 129, 

 <r ? . 



A nitidulous, punctulate and black species, with very variable mark- 

 ings. Head with the mouth, clypeus, face, internal and external orbits 

 broadly, flavidous or fulvidous ; mandibular teeth of equal length. 

 Antennae infuscate and paler beneath. Thorax at least partly red. 

 Abdomen red or fulvescent-stramineous with the first segment entirely, 

 the second nearly to its apex and usually sides of the following more or 

 less, black. Legs fulvescent with stramineous markings, the hind tibiae 

 black at their base and apex above. Wings subhyaline with stigma infus- 

 cate or dull testaceous. Length, 4-6 mm. 



At first sight this species is said by its author to strongly resemble 

 JIL vitticoUis, though recognised by the equally long mandibular teeth and 

 the infuscate or dull testaceous stigma, which is not uncommonly stram- 

 ineous ; from M. vitlator it differs in the ungual structure, the claws 

 here being indistinctly pectinate while in that species the pectination is 

 elongate to their centre. The basal segment, too, is much straighter and 

 less elevated than in its allies. Schmiedeknecht considers M. gracilcntiis, 

 Brisch. (Schr. Nat. Ges. Danz. 1880, p. 188,,^), a variety of this species 

 with the abdomen black and only apices of the second and third segments 

 testaceous ; three other of Brischke's species he also sinks as forms of the 

 present, along with M. cimbicis, Ratz. (Ichn. d. Forst.), as was done by 

 Marshall in 1872. 



Probably more than one kind has, at various times, l)een included 

 under this name and the Continental breedings from such diverse insects 



