British Braconidce. 167 



Black, abdomen sometimes piceous in the middle ; palpi and 

 legs pale ochraceous ; oral pax'ts dull rufous. Antennae J 24- 

 jointed (rarely 25), as long as the body, ferruginous ; scape, extreme 

 base of the following joints, and 5 - 6 apical joints entirely, 

 fuscous. Prothorax produced, forming a sort of neck, rugulose ; 

 mesothorax shining, with deep converging sutures; mesopleurse 

 also smooth and shining, with a shallow punctate fuiTow ; scutellum 

 subacutely elevated at the apex, slightly rugulose, distinctly mar- 

 gined ; metathorax short, carinated longitudinally, finely rugulose, 

 almost reticulated ; 2 dorsal areae faintly defined posteriorly and at 

 the sides, behind them are two less distinct areas. Wings hyaline, 

 as long as the whole body, nervures and stigma yellow. Legs 

 longer and more slender than in other species ; claws, and extreme 

 base of the hind coxise, fuscous. Abdomen 5 subclavate ; 1st 

 segment forming scarcely |- of its length, linear, slightly dilated 

 behind, rugose ; tubercles prominent, placed before the middle ; 

 the other segments smooth and shinmg. Terebra as long as J of 

 the abdomen. ^ similar; antennae longer, 25— 26-jointed, fuscous, 

 base of the flagellum usually fei'ruginous ; parastigma and apex of 

 the stigma fuscescent ; legs longer, last joint of the tarsi fuscous ; 

 abdomen linear, not subclavate. Length, 2 ; wings, 4^ lin. 



Described from 14 specimens. Found not uncom- 

 monly in woods throughout the kingdom. It is the 

 largest species, and distinguished by the greatest number 

 of joints in the antemic^. Bred by Boudier from larvae 

 of Otiorrhynchus ligneus, 01., and Barynotus mcercns, 

 Fab., at Montmorency. The evidence of the identity 

 of Boudier's parasites with the present species, though 

 much of it is of a negative character, seems tolerably 

 conclusive, and is borne out by the figures. With 

 Blaciis Florus, Goureau, the case is different ; but if 

 this belongs to the genus Blacus at all, it must be tiiher- 

 culatus, Wesm., for the description is applicable to no 

 other species. Goureau records it as a parasite of 

 Agromyza nana, Meig., which mines the leaves of 7ns 

 pseudacorus ; but the small size of the fly compared 

 with that of the parasite renders this incredible, as 

 indeed Goureau himself acknowledged. 



2. Blacus ruficorniSy Nees. 

 Bracon riificornis, Nees, Mon., i., 49, <? ? (not his 



var. /3). 



N 2 



