180 THE ENTOMOLO'jIST. 



INTRODUCTORY PAPERS ON ICHNEUMONID^E. 



By John B, Bridgman and Edward A. Fitch. 



No. III.— CRYPTID^. 



The Cryptidse include those Iclmeumones ijentagoni with a 

 distinct lateral sulcus to the mesosternum, with few exceptions an 

 exserted aculeus in the female, and with the spiracles of the first 

 abdominal segment generally farther from its apex than from one 

 another. Certain males might easily be mistaken for Ichneumones 

 jmeustici, but the females are at once distinguishable by their 

 exserted ovipositor, except in Stilpmis. 



Gravenhorst (Ich. Europ., vol. ii. ; 1839) included the genera 

 Hoplismenus, Cryptus, Phygadeuon, Mesostenus, Baryceros, Hemi- 

 teles, Pezomaclms, Phytodietns, IscJmoceros, NematopocUus, Meso- 

 choriis, and Plectiscus in this family. Hoplismenus has already 

 been included in the Ichn. oxypygi ; Baryceros included a single 

 South-American species ; Phytodietns, and Ischnoceros are now 

 included in the Pimplidse, and Mesochorus and Plectiscus in the 

 Ophionidse. Stiljmus was included in the Ichneumonidee by 

 Gravenhorst; it unites the two families. Foerster, in his admirable 

 ' Monographie der Gattung Pezomachus' (Berlin, 1851), makes 

 seven new genera, besides Pezomachus; Pterocormus, a new 

 genus made by Foerster for Gravenhorst's Brachypterus, is 

 included, but this was founded on a single species [B. means, Gr.), 

 since proved by Marshall to be the short-winged variety of 

 Ichneumon latrator, which has already been referred to. Tasch- 

 enberg (' Die Schlupfwespenfamilie Cryptides,' Zeits. Ges. Nat., 

 vol. XXV., pp. 1 — 142; 1865) included the genus Exolytus amongst 

 the Cryptidse, but Holmgren has removed it to the Ophionidse, and 

 Brischke has taken the same view. Foerster made Exolytus, 

 Atractodes and Stilpnus into a separate family, Stilpnoidse : these 

 three genera all have more or less complete pentagonal areolets 

 and aculeus not or hardly exserted, thus having some resemblance 

 both with the Ichneumonidse and Cryptidse ; Stilpnus has an oval 

 abdomen, whilst in Exolytus and Atractodes it is elongate, and in 

 the latter genus is subcompressed. Taschenberg also included 

 Ischnoceros smd Agriotypus, and. added Linoceras, Brachycentrus 

 and Ortliopclma as new genera. In Tschek's monograph of the 

 Austrian Cryptidse (Verb. z.-b. Gesell. Wien., vol. xx., pp. 109 — 



