CONTRIBUTIONS TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF BRITISH BRACONID^. 19U 



" Braconidse d'Europe," says it is gregarious, though all the 

 records he gives seem to point to its being solitary. In the 

 New Forest I have found it to be a fairly common parasite of 

 Cleora lichenaria, having often bred it from the larvae of that 

 species in April and early May. I have also a specimen obtained 

 by.Golthrup from the same host taken at Abbots Wood. In 

 addition, I have bred it from small larvae of Miselia oxyocanthce, 

 May 14th, 1912 ; Crocallis elinguaria, May 22nd, 1914 ; and 

 Pachys betularia, August 2nd, 1913 ; also from Eupithecia irri- 

 guata, July 24th, 1916, and Ephyra punctaria, September 13th 

 and 15th, 1911. 



The cocoon is smooth and pure white in colour. 



A. pinicola, sp. nov. 



Black ; palpi pale ; tips of mandibles, belly at base, and legs 

 rufo testaceous ; hind coxae dark ; hind femora and tibiae tipped with 

 fuscous (in dark specimens the fore and middle tibiae are also fuscous 

 towards the apices) ; middle and hind tarsi more or less fuscous. 

 First three segments of the abdomen laterally bordered with dull 

 rufo testaceous. Hind coxge above slightly granulated, otherwise 

 smooth and shining. Wings sub-infumated, irridescent, stigma and 

 nervures dark fuscous, all the nervures visible ; antennae as long as 

 the body. Mesothorax and scutellum finely punctulate, shining ; 

 metathorax almost smooth, feebly acciculated at apex. Abdomen 

 shining ; first segment three times as long as medial breadth, 

 gradually tapering from base to apex, with a smooth raised medial 

 ridge, laterally rather coarsely punctate ; second centrally raised and 

 smooth, laterally sub-rugulose, almost as long as third ; terebra 

 short ; spurs of middle tibiae somewhat curved at apex. Length, 

 3^-4 mm. ; expands, 8-9 mm. 



Described from eleven males and twenty-three females. 



Very near vitripennis, though I believe it to be quite distinct. 

 It is a larger and more robust insect, the wings are sub-infu- 

 mated (in vitripennis they are pure hyaline), while all the outer 

 nervures of the upper wing are plainly visible. There is much 

 less testaceous colouring on the upper side of the abdomen ; also 

 the legs are rufo testaceous, and not flavo testaceous. Tn this 

 species the transverse median vein forms with the third abscissa 

 of the median vein an angle of 45 degrees or so ; in vitripennis 

 we have almost a right angle at the junction of the two veins. 

 Also the cocoons are different. 



In the New Forest a very common solitary parasite of the 

 larvae of Thera variata and T. obeliscata from which hosts I have 

 bred it in numbers from May 14th to June 9th, and again from 

 September 18th to October 16th. Major Robertson also obtains 

 it frequently at Chandler's Ford from the same hosts. I have 

 beaten it from Douglas fir on November 26th and 27th, and 

 once took a specimen at ivy bloom so late as December 1st. 



