British Braconidcs. 193 



1. Macrocentrus abdominalis, Fab. 



Ichneumon abdominalis, Fab., E. S., ii., 183 ; Cri/ptus 

 abdominalis, Fab., Piez., 89; Grav., Ichn. Eur., 

 iii., 1073, ? . 

 Bracon linearis, Nees, Mag. Ges. Berl., 1811, p. 13, 

 pi. i., f. 1 ; Rogas linearis, Nees, Mon., i., 200; 

 Wesm., Nouv. Mem. Ac. Brux., 1835, p. 173, and 

 1838, p. 150; Katz., Ichn. d. Forst., ii., 64, 

 pi. ii., f. 33 ; M. linearis, Hal., Ent. Mag., iii., 

 137, (? ? . 

 Rogas pallipes, Nees, Mon., i., 203; M. palUpes, Hal., 



Ent. Mag., iii., 137, note, ? . 

 Elongate, slender, pubescent. Head, base of antennae, pro- 

 thorax, belly, and legs flavo-testaceous ; stemmaticum fuscous ; 

 the rest variable ; usually there is a dark ti'ansverse Hne below the 

 scutelluni, and a fuscous shade towards the extremity of the meta- 

 thorax. Antennae ^ J much longer than the body, about 45- 

 jointed. Metathorax thickly punctulate. Wings hyaline ; stigma 

 yellow, often with a fuscous spot, or wholly fuscescent ; nervures 

 fuscescent; radix and squamulse stramineous; 2d cubital areolet 

 not much narrowed outwardly. Legs elongate, slender. Abdomen 

 linear, not falcate ; segments 1 — 3 dehcately striolate, not shining ; 

 1st segment canaliculated ; 2d margined ; 2 — 3 nai-rowly smooth 

 at the apex. Terebra longer than the body. ^ similar ; antennae 

 almost twice as long as the body. Length, 1| — 2^ ; wings, 3| — 

 ^ lin. 



Var. a. Piceous, head testaceous ; antennae fuscous, pale at the 

 extreme base ; prothorax and belly testaceous ; pleurs and meso- 

 notum more or less varied with testaceous. 



Var. ^3. Testaceous ; metathorax partly, and base of abdomen, 

 fuscous ; or abdomen fuscous, the segments margined with testa- 

 ceous ; stigma with hardly a fuscous spot. 



Var. y. Entirely testaceous, except the stemmaticum ; stigma 

 yellow, immaculate. 



Var. S. Blackish ; palpi, 1st joint of antennae, legs, and base of 

 the belly, testaceous ; intermediate segments testaceous at the 

 sides. M. 2^alUpes, Nees. Van VoUenhoven bred this variety, 

 mixed with typical specimens, from the same victim, thus proving 

 their identity : and of 60 specimens sent to me by Bignell, about 

 one-half were pallipes. 



An abundant parasite of Lepidoptera, more or less 

 gregarious, according to the size of the infested cater- 



