British Braconida. 103 



Described from two females, one male, taken near 

 Abergavenny, St. Albans, and Northampton ; and three 

 females in Fitch's collection, captured by Bridgman. 

 Taken not uncommonly by Capron at Shiere. 



8. Meteorus confinis, Paithe. 



Meteorus confinis, Paithe, Berl. ent. Zeits., 18G2, 

 p. 18, 2 . 



Eufo-testaceous, variable ; palpi whitish ; antenna 1 fuscous at 

 the tips, and all the articulations dusky ; legs and '2d abdominal 

 segment always pale testaceous ; stemmaticum, occiput, 3 patches 

 on the lobes of the mesothorax, disk of the rnetathorax, with the 

 rest of the abdomen, more or less piceous or black; joints of the 

 4 posterior tarsi tipped with fuscous. "Wings hyaline, squamuhe 

 and stigma yellow, the latter edged beneath with fuscous ; ner- 

 vures fuscous ; recurrent nervure rejected ; 2d cubital areolet 

 somewhat narrowed towards the radius ; radius distinct, but the 

 other outer nervures of both wings decolorous. Tracheal grooves 

 distinct. Terebra as long as the abdomen. $ J . Length, \\ ; 

 wings, 3A lin. 



Another species closely allied to ictericus, but certainly distinct. 

 It is much smaller ; the joints of the antenna? are fewer in number '■> 

 the outer longitudinal nervures of the wings are obsolete ; the 1st 

 abdominal segment is broader and shorter in proportion. The 

 extremes of coloration (in six examples) are as follows : the palest 

 $ has only the apex of the abdomen black, the other markings are 

 pale piceous and subobsolete ; the darkest has all the markings 

 above mentioned equally black ; the others, and the 9 , are inter- 

 mediate. Ruthe possessed only two females ; having taken the $ , 

 I am able to complete the description. Antenna? of the $ longer 

 than the body, testaceous or fuscous, darker towards the tips, 29- 

 jointed ; of the 5 27-jointed, about \ the length of the body. Meta- 

 thorax intricato-rugulose, obliquely truncated behind, the posterior 

 surface presenting a smooth area, margined by a raised line. First 

 abdominal segment about § of the length of the abdomen, faintly 

 and irregularly striolated, darkest in the middle, the two ends 

 testaceous. 



Common. Very likely to be confounded with ictericus. 



I found five males, one female, in meadows near North- 

 ampton, and three males, one female, near Leicester. 



