British Braconidce. 151 



A solitary parasite of Noctuce, mostly found in southern 

 and central Europe, but also known in Sweden and 

 Holland ; taken by Dahl at Vienna, and by Wesmael at 

 Brussels, Liege, &c. First bred by DeGeer from 

 Acronijcta psi, L. Subsequently, according to Eatze- 

 burg, by Bouche from Hadena pisiy L. ; by Drewsen and 

 Boie from Acronycta psi on June 10th; by Brischke, 

 July 8th, from Acrojiycta tridens, Schiff. ; S. v. Vollen- 

 hoven records it as several times reared in Holland from 

 A. tridens ; and Giraud bred it in France from the same 

 host. Introduced into the British list, perhaps wrongly, 

 by Curtis (Guide, 2d ed., column 120) ; but it was not 

 in his collection. Five specimens in Walker's collection 

 at Oxford, ticketed R. irrorator, are nothing but Asco- 

 gasters ; judging at least from the one kindly lent us by 

 the Professor of Zoology, which was determined by 

 Fitch and verified by me. Stephens, in his ' Catalogue,' 

 records the species as British, and taken by himself in 

 the London district, but no recent captures have occurred. 

 Our figure is drawn from a foreign example in the 

 British Museum. Cocoon 5 lines long, hard, white, and 

 elliptical. 



HL AEEOLAKH. 

 XL MICEOGASTEEIDES. 



Clj-peus entire ; mouth closed. Maxillary palpi 4 — 5-, labial 3- 

 joiiited. Vertex short, occiput seldom margined, Mesothoracic 

 sutures obsolete. Abdomen sessile or subsessile, sutures distinct. 

 Cubital areolets 2 or 3 ; in the latter case the 2d is minute, sub- 

 triangular or stirrup-shaped, often imperfect ; radial areolet ample, 

 nearly reaching the apex of the wing; exterior nervures, and 

 especially the radial, more or less attenuated and obsolete ; re- 

 current nervure rejected (except in Accelius) ; pobraehial areolet 

 longer than the praebrachial (except in Acoelius). Terebra sub- 

 exserted or elongate. 



The number of joints in the antennae is invariable in 

 each genus, and the same in both sexes. The abdomen 

 above exhibits usually 8 segments (in Mirax 7, in Acadhis 

 5). The 1st consists, as in Bracon, of a hard, variously 

 shaped scutum, with soft membranaceous edges, gene- 

 rally pale-coloured, and not always visible, being shrunk 

 up in dead specimens. The last segment is very minute. 

 In the 2 the subapical ventral segment is more or less 

 carinated and acutely produced, forming a fulcrum to 

 support the terebra, and called the ralrula rcntndis. 

 The anterior ventral segments, like those of Bracon, are 



