KNOWLEDGE OF THE BRITISH BRACONID®. 125 
(twenty-one), and many other times. Clutten has also bred it 
from the same host taken at Burnley. Bred from larve of 
Teniocampa stabilis, July 7th, 1911 (eight), July 28th, 1911 
(eight), July 26th, 1911 (seven), and many other dates, from 
larva of Graptolitha (Xylina) ornithopus, July 24th, 1911 (four). 
On May 6th, 1909, I bred a single male from a small larva of 
Triphena fimbria ; in this case the cocoon was suspended by a 
thread an inch or so long from the roof of a breeding cage; the 
larva had not reversed its position, as is usual with those 
Meteoride which construct pendulous cocoons, so that the imago 
emerged from the uppermost end of the cocoon. I think that 
the unusual position of this cocoon was probably merely an 
accident, through the host being on the roof of the cage when 
the parasite larva emerged, and not at all likely to be of common 
occurrence. Like Marshall I have never met with any of the 
dark vars. described by Ruthe, and am inclined to believe that 
they may be referred to M. leviventris. The two species are 
certainly very close, though in M. leviventris the first abcissa of 
the radius is as long as the second, while in M. luridus it is 
considerably shorter. All my specimens of M. luridus are 
uniformly pale. 
M. leviventris (Wesm.).—Very similar to M. luridus but 
differing in colour, being much darker. A gregarious parasite 
of the larve of Lepidoptera, said to be common. 
The cocoons are fusiform, brown, rather woolly with a lighter 
spot at the smaller extremity, 43-5 mm. in length (fig. 9). I 
can detect little or no difference between them and those made 
by M. luridus, though possibly they may be rather darker and 
slightly smaller. Morley described the cocoon as ‘ cylindrical, 
dirty white, much more woolly at the anal half and only 
33 mm.in length.” I have seen the cocoon from which he took 
this description, and although it is certainly of this species, it is 
dilapidated, undersized, much rubbed, and accordingly mis- 
leading. The larva is elongate, attenuate at both extremities, 
cream coloured, with the parts of the mouth outlined in brown, 
also a brown ring on either side of the first segment above; as 
might be supposed, it is very similar to the larva of M. luridus. 
The larve leave their host when the latter has prepared to pupate, 
so that the cocoons are to be found underground. 
Bred from larve of Triphena pronuba, November 3rd, 1913 
(twenty-one), November 4th, 1913 (seventeen; ten males and 
seven females), and November 9th, 19138 (sixteen; seven males 
and six females, three failed to emerge). 
I am not aware that a host for this species has been hitherto 
recorded. 
