ies) 
bo 
nr 
Mesoleptus | BRITISH ICHNEUMONS. 

The metathorax in ? is said to be occasionally infuscate or both thorax 
and abdomen dark-marked ; several of my specimens have the face longi- 
tudinally nigrescent centrally. 
This species is not infrequent throughout the whole of Scandinavia, 
though there are no Scots records; it has been found upon umbells in 
Silesia in August, in Prussia, Belgium and France. Our records are 
somewhat scanty ; both sexes at Netley in Salop (Hope) ; near Hertford, 
Dover, Darenth and Coombe Woods, “in June” (Stephens) ; Groveley 
Wood near Salisbury, Bishops Teignton in Devon and Botusfleming 
(Marshall coll.) ; Dousland in Devon, on 23rd August (Bignell); a full 
series from Shere (Capron coll.); Guestling (Bloomfield); New Forest 
(Miss Chawner). It would appear to be local and very restricted in its 
time of appearance, since the few that Elliott and I have taken, always 
by beating young birch trees, in Tuddenham Fen, Suffolk, have turned 
up only from 26th to 29th August, 1902-1906. Bridgman found only the 
type form at Norwich, and this has several times been bred, though 
the Lepidopterus hosts are, possibly, open to suspicion. First Boie in 
1841 records it from Zenfhredo scalaris, secondly Giraud in 1877 tells us 
Gooss raised it from Lupithecita absinthiata, thirdly Ratzeburg is said 
by Dalla Torre to have bred it from Croesus septentrionalis, and to these 
Gaulle adds Rhogogaster punctulatus and R. viridis, with which I have 
often seen it flying. In Britain Eedle is said (Entom. 1880, p. 68) to 
have bred it from the Noctuid, Szmyra venosa and Bignell (Entom. 1881, 
p- 141) from “Lupithecia castigata; the latter tells us (Trans. Devon. Assoc. 
1898, p. 235) that the parasite emerged in south Devon on 31st October 
from a larva found on zoth September. 
10. ruficornis, Grav. 
Mesoleptus ruficornis, Gr. I. E. ii. 43; Ste. Ill. M. vii. 219; Holmgr. Sv. Ak. 
Handl. 1854, p.67; l.c. 1855, p.101; Voll. Pinac. pl. xxvi, fig.4; Brisch. Schr. 
Nat. Ges. Danz. 1878, p.65, ¢ ?. M. lugwbris, Woldst. Bidr. Finl. Nat. 1872, 
p. 31, ?. Mesoletus ruficornis, Holmgr. Sv. Ak. Handl. 1876, p.50; Thoms. 
O. E. xvii. 1885, ¢ ?. Var. Mesoleius comptus, Holmgr. Sv. Ak. Handl. 1855, 
p. 165 ¢; Brisch. Phys. Ges. Kénig. 1871, p. 82, ¢ 2; cf. Thoms. /.c. Var. Try- 
phon mutator, Zett. I. L. i. 387, ¢ ¢. 
A black species with the mouth, clypeus, and at least in ¢ face, pale 
flavous. Head somewhat narrowed behind the eyes; Q face sometimes 
black; clypeus apically depressed and very slightly emarginate. An- 
tennae fulvescent at least beneath; scape of ¢ flavous below; flagellum 
with about 47 joints. ‘Thorax very often more or less broadly rufescent 
orin @ flavidous-marked; metathorax very finely punctate, not apically 
narrowed, with obsolete discal areae and the petiolar rarely entire. Scu- 
tellum red. Abdomen centrally broadly red; basal segment with spira- 
cles distinctly before its centre. Legs red with coxae, trochanters, hind 
femora and apices of their tibiae, black; anterior coxae and trochanters 
of ¢ flavous. Wings ample; stigma and tegulae flavescent; areolet 
entire, subtriangular and emitting recurrent nervure from its apex; ner- 
vellus intercepted below its centre. Length, 8—11 mm. 
The thoracic colouration is very variable, and in var. comp/us only the 
notauli and a pectoral mark are castaneous. It is our only species of 
Alexeter with the black abdomen centrally red, and hind femora black ; 
P 
