318 Mr. G. E. Bodkin's Notes on 



Family BEACONIDAE. 



Subfamily CHELONINAE. 

 Genus Fornicia, Brulle. 



F. dalhrafa, Briille. A larval parasite of the Liraacodid 

 moth, Sibine fusca, Stoll. This is a very abundant moth 

 on the coast lands and attacks a large variety of economic 

 plants. The parasite emerges before the larva is half 

 developed. The percentage of parasitism is never very 

 high. 



Subfamily BRACONINAE. 



Genus Lasiophorus, Hal. 



L. forh'spinus, Cameron. A fairly common species on 

 the coast lands. 



Genus Iphiaulax, Forster. 



/. medianus, Cameron. This is the well-known parasite 

 of the several species of Diafraea (Lej^idoptera) which 

 bore into sugar-cane in British Guiana. The sjjecies is a 

 common one, it being an easy matter to capture either 

 sex in the cane-fields. The life-history of the species has 

 been observed in the field by Mr. Harold Moore, and the 

 following is his own description : * — " On the morning of 

 the 12th, in a field at Non Pareil, I noticed a female alight 

 near the top of a cane-stump, run down the shoot, tapping 

 it the while with her antemiae, till she got to a Diatraea 

 hole near the base. Into the tunnel she began pushing 

 her ovipositor, when a slight movement on my part, in 

 an endeavour to obtain a closer view of the proceedings, 

 disturbed her. Off she flew, but merely to wheel round 

 and alight again on the shoot, when she found the hole 

 the same way, and began inserting her ovijiositor. I lay 

 prostrate on the trash bank, as motionless as possible, and 

 watched. It was 9.28 a.m. Soon after her ovipositor had 

 been inserted she gave a slight quick backward jerk with 

 her abdomen, showing she had evidently felt something. 

 Back down went her abdomen and again a similar jerk. 

 This occurred three or four times, after which she kejjt 

 quite still for several minutes, her ovipositor being well 

 in the caterpillar's tunnel. She withdrew her ovipositor 

 at 9.38, thus occupying about ten minutes in parasitising 

 the caterpillar, of the presence of which I had no doubt. 



* Published in the " Daily Ai'gosy," Demerara, March 1913. 



