1907.] Wheeler, The Polymorphism of A^its. 17 



to the fact "that in the collection of St. Vincent Chalcids sent to Professor 

 Riley from Cambridge University there is a specimen of Kapala furcata 

 Fabr. which bears in its jaws a medium sized red ant." Events have shown 

 that Howard was probably correct in supposing this peculiar Chalcidid to 

 be an ant parasite. Dr. O. F. Cook informs me that he has bred a speci- 

 men of an allied genus, Isomeralia coronata Westwood (PI. IV, Figs. 58 and 

 59), from a cocoon of the Guatemalan kelep {Ectatomma tuberculatum Oliv.), 

 and Dr. Ashmead tells me that in his opinion Kapala floridana (PI. IV, Figs. 

 56 and 57) is probably parasitic on the Florida harvester {Pogonomyrmex ha- 

 dius Latr). He also assures me that the tj'pe of Pseudometagia schwarzi 

 was taken in an ant-nest near Washington, D. C. 



To the foregoing observations on Eucharinje I am able to add some notes 

 on a parasite belonging to another subfamily of Chalcididae. As stated on 

 p. 2, I failed to find Orasema in nests of Pheidole instabilis except during 

 the summer and late spring months. At other seasons I often took a species 

 •of the subfamily Asaphinse, namelv, Pheidoloxenus loheeleri Ashmead (Pi. 

 Ill, Fig. 36), an exquisite little Chalcidid which runs about in the dense 

 throng of Pheidole workers like one of their number. It is not easily detected, 

 as it resembles the workers in its small size (1 mm.) and in being subapterous 

 or practically wingless. Its head is very wide, with a concave occiput and 

 ^-jointed antennae inserted near the oral border. These appendages are 

 very robust, and have a club-shaped funiculus terminating in a broad flat 

 joint. The epinotum is very short, the wings are represented only by the 

 tegulse and minute vestiges of the alar membranes. The surface of the 

 body is smooth and shining. The head is deep metallic blue, with green 

 cheeks and yellow mandibles; the antennae are yellow at the base, with the 

 large apical and adjacent transverse joints black. The thorax is green with 

 golden reflections, the epinotum more blue green, the tegulse violet. The 

 abdomen is metallic green with a broad violet band across the posterior por- 

 tion of each of the basal segments. The legs are fuscous, with yellow knees, 

 tarsi and trochanters. 



I have not been able to learn anything concerning the development of this 

 insect. According to Ashmead the vast majority of Asaphinae are parasites 

 "upon plant lice, Aphididae, and upon the bark lice, Coccidae," but this can- 

 not be the case with Pheidoloxenus since this insect is a regular myrmecophile, 

 and Ph. instabilis does not, like our northern species of Lasius, cultivate 

 aphids and coccids in its nests. During the autumn and winter months 

 I have occasionally seen the instabilis workers carrying small pink larvae 

 about in the chambers. These were certainly not a portion of the ant brood, 

 but whether they were the larvae of Pheidoloxenus or not, I have been unable 

 to determine. On one or two occasions I have seen as many as six or eight 



