British Braconidce. 95 



7. Rhogas tristis, Wesm. 



Rogas hicolor, var. ^, Nees, Mon., i., 214, 3- ? . 



Aleiodes tristis, Wesm., Noiiv. Mem. Ac. Brux., 1838, 

 p. 114, I? ? ; S. V. VolL, Pinac, pi. iv., f. 10 

 (with base of antenna). 



Rogas tristis, Eeinli., Berl. ent. Zeit., 1863, p. 263, 

 <? ? . 



Black, palpi aud iiiaudibles pale ; orbits aud thorax more or less 

 rufous ; legs rufo-testaceous, femora of the 2d and 3d pairs often 

 black at the apex. Vertex behind the eyes much narrowed, the 

 sides subrectilinear. Mesopleurae dull, rugulose, with a snaooth 

 shining space near the metathorax. Abdomen elongate, rugulose, 

 very little narrowed at the base, segments 1 — 4 margined beneath 

 at the sides, segment 2 subquadrate. Wings nearly hyaline, stigma 

 narrow, acuminate, testaceous, bordered with fuscous. Terebra 

 subexserted. Length, 2^ ; wings, 5 lin. 



AntenniB as long as the body, 45— 48-joiuted in the ^ , 41 — 44- 

 jointed in the ? (in the British specimen, 45-jointed), sometimes 

 testaceous at the base. Body covered with thin greyish pubescence. 

 Abdominal segments 1 — 3 rugulose, apex of the 3d more finely, 

 4th and following punctulate and slightly shining. The legs are 

 rufous inclining to testaceous, intermediate in colour between the 

 two sections in the table of species. The femora are sometimes 

 more than half black. 



Var. a. Thorax entu'ely black. 



Var. /3. Prothorax above and at the sides, aud mesothorax 

 above, rufous. 



Var. y. Head entirely and coxa? partly, black. 



Var. d. Like the last, but the palpi aud mandibles fiiscous. 



Var. f. Head rufous, a black spot on the face, vertex, and 

 occiput. 



This must be carefully distinguished from R. hicolor. 

 It is a trifle larger, and more slender in proportion ; 

 the antennae have more joints ; the head is longer {i. e., 

 not so transverse), more distinctly narrowed behind the 

 eyes, and with the sides much less rounded ; the eyes 

 are larger and more prominent ; the thorax somewhat 

 flatter ; and in respect of colours (although these are 

 very variable), the legs of tristis are constantly and de- 

 cidedly marked with black, while in hicolor only the 3d 

 pair of femora are exceptionally tipped with that colour. 

 The head of the ? hicolor is nearly always rufous ; that 

 of tristis black, with the orbits more or less pale. 



