British BraconidcB. 265 



margined ; segment 1 subquadrate, 2 — 3 subeqnal, transverse ; 3 and 

 following smooth and shining. Terebra shorter than ^ the abdo- 

 men. Valvula ventralis acuminated, not surpassing the anus. 

 Spurs of hind tibiiu longer than k the metatarsus. ^ $ . Length, 

 If— 2; wings, 3| — 4^ lin. 



Var. Legs unicolorous, rufous, &c. Microgaster riiflpcs, Nees, 

 Mon., i., 164, <? ? ; M. siuhlncompletws, Ratz., Ichn. d. Forst., iii., 

 49, (?. 



The stout anteniicTe of the ? are about as long as the 

 body; the ^ differs only in having them longer and 

 more setaceous, and a more depressed abdomen. The 

 base of the clypeus, and tips of the mandibles, are 

 rufescent. Labial palpi sometimes dusky. Wings some- 

 times almost hyaline, tinged towards the base and on 

 the costa with testaceous. The hind femora, and, less 

 often, their tibife, are liable to be fuscous, or even black, 

 at the tips, and the same tibiae are generally very pale at 

 the base. A var. with the fore femora black at the base 

 is conjectured by Kuthe to be M. anthomyianim, Bouche 

 (Naturg., 1834, IGO) ; and those with more hyaline 

 wings are M. amentorum, Katz. (i., 68). The difficulty 

 of recognising the present species, as well as the preceding 

 and following, is very great, in consequence of slight 

 variations. Euthe states the result of his experience to 

 be, that uniformity in the colour of the legs and wings 

 always prevails in the same brood ; in another brood 

 from the same species of larva will be seen, perhaps, a 

 small variation ; while a brood proceeding from a 

 different species will present more marked deviations, 

 not only in colour, but in size, form, and degree of 

 punctuation. Individuals occur with the femora and 

 tibiae more or less blackened, which can neither be 

 referred with certainty to this species, nor to tibialis, 

 Nees, and, as their cocoons are indistinguishable, it is 

 rnot vey unlikely that the two species ought to be united. 



Like tibialis, Nees, it seems to be a solitary para- 

 site of the smaller moths, and therefore cannot be 

 the Ichneumon glohatus, L. ; there are, however, hardly 

 any bred specimens at hand. A ? in Fitch's collection 

 was bred by Elisha, June 9th, from Sericoris euphorhiana, 

 Freyer, a ^ from Conchylis Smeathmaniana, Fab., May 

 IGth ; and S. v. Vollenhoven reared one from Spilocles 

 verticalis, L., in July. Brischke bred it singly from 

 Eupithecia Unariata, Fab., E. campautdata, Schaff., 



