188.J.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 415 



Herriclc also disproved Say's explanation, but was in doubt whether 

 or not to consider the wingless individuals that he observed as belong- 

 ing to the same species. He says: "At page 63, it is stated that the 

 so called Geraphron destructor throws oft' its wings, ike This is not true. 

 I have kept many of them six weeks without any such results, and 

 never saw anything in my intercourse wfth them which induced me to 

 suspect it. But it is certain that many of them are evolved with only 

 rudiments of wings. I have seen them come out of the puparium in 

 this state. This apterous animal is so similar to the female that I have 

 considered it the same species ; but I hardly know how to consider it. 

 In the field I have never seen these apterous ones ovipositing or in coitv. 

 Are they neuters, and if so, for what use?" 



The question is answered by the existence of the other species de- 

 scribed in this paper, which, as will be seen, is apterous as a rule, and 

 winged only as an exception, and which was evidently mistaken by both 

 authors for wingless specimens of destructor. In order to properly sep- 

 arate this last I have drawn up a full description, which will show its 

 distinctive characters as compared with other allied species. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



Meiisus destructor (Say). 



il/«/e.— Length (average) 1.98'"'". Expanse of wings 3.25'"'". Greatest width of 

 fore wing 0.62""". Antenme long lilifonn, stronglj^ pilose; fnuicle joints sub-equal 

 in width, decreasing slightly in length from 1 to 6; joint I a little more than cwice 

 as long as broad; the club is nearly as long as the two preceding joints v-*f the (uni- 

 cle together, ovate, flattened on the sides and acuminate at tip. The ocelli arc large 

 and prominent. Head and notum densely and rather finely punctate, the punctures 

 on the mesoscutellum and metanotum finer than those on the head, pronotum and 

 mcsoscutum, those on the metanotum being deeper ; metanotum with an indication 

 of a median carina. The abdomen is oval, convex above, flattened below, glabrous, 

 but very finely shagreened. The hind tibiae have but a single apical spur, and the 

 hind trochanter has two very minute tooth-like projections below. General color 

 black ; autennal scape yellowish, pedicel and fiagellum brown to blackish, jiedicel 

 often yellowish below ; head and thorax with a bluish-green metallic reflection ; all 

 cox;e black with metallic reflections; all femora black or dark brown, with yellowish 

 tips; all tibiae and tarsi honey-yellow. Wings perfectly hyaline; wing veins very 

 distinct, dark brown in color; spurious veins more distinct than in if. destructor. 

 Abdomen black with a yellowish spot varying in size above and below at base. 



Female. — Averages in size a little larger than the male, from which she differs prin- 

 cipally in the autenuie, which are short and have a slight clavate tendency ; the funi- 

 cle joints increase slightly in width and decrease slightly in length from 1 to 6 ; club 

 short and obliquely acuminate ; scape short, light yellow-brown in color ; flagellum. 

 brown; club lighter in color than the remainder of the flagellum ; pile very short 

 and fine. 



Described from 4 g 's, 10 $ 's. 



Differs from all other described species of the genus in the combination of the jiale 

 scape, hyaline wings, and flattened abdomen. 



There can be little doubt that this is the species described by Say 

 and elaborated by Fitch. Say's description is of a very general char- 

 acter, but there are two points in it that would seem to settle the ques- 

 tion as between this and suba/pterus. The fact that he had both sexes 



