30 



worm. I have not as yet ascertained whether it is generally 

 (listril)ute(i throughout the islands or not. The known hosts of 

 this parasite now include Mcgaclulc. SccUphron, Pison, Odynerns, 

 of Hymenoptera, and Erciiiicfis of Lepidoptera. 



Recent observations show that this parasite confines its attacks 

 mostly tO' the hymenopterous hosts, especially ScclipJiron ( the 

 mud-dauber wasp so abundant everywhere), and bud worms are 

 not much attacked by them. \Mien breeding on the larva of 

 Sccliphron, several hundred larvae of this parasite attain their 

 growth on one larva of the host; I once counted 338 (331 females 

 and 7 males ) parasites bred from one larva of Mcgachilc pal- 

 nianiui. The preponderance of females is always apparent. In a 

 lot of adults reared from several larvae of Sccliphron were 1492 

 females and 48 males: about i male to 31 females. Whether 

 this species is partially parthenogenetic I have not as yet proved. 



FA^IILY BRACONIDAE. 



Microifiis Iia-iMiicola Ashm. 



"Female. Length 3 to 4 mm. ; ovipositor fully as long as the body. 

 Polished Mack, with the metathorax rugoso-pimctate, the first segment of 

 the abdomen being longitudinally striate, the second with a few striae 

 only, a little beyond its middle; the first two joints of the antennae, the 

 clypeus, the cheek, the mandibles, the legs, e.xcept as noted below, and 

 ventral abdominal segments i to 4, honey-yellow, or brownish-yellow ; 

 the palpi, tegulae, trochanters, more or less, and a narrow annulus at 

 base of tibiae, yellowish-white; the hind coxae, except at apex, are black; 

 the middle femora and hind tibiae and tarsi are brown or fuscous, while 

 the hind femora vary from dark fuscous to black. Wings subhyaline ; 

 the stigma and the veins, except toward the base of the wings, are lirown, 

 the areolet being small, triangular and longly petiolate. the second dis- 

 coidal cell being open at apex. 



"The abdomen is black; the ventral segments i to 4 pale, the third and 

 beyond, usually with dusky spots, while the extreme lateral margins of 

 the second segment are yellowish-white." [Ashmead, Fauna Ha- 

 waiiensis, I, Pt. III. p. 361, 1901.] 



This small black Braconid occurs on the four main islands of 

 the group. I have collected it in cane fields, and once bred a 

 specimen from a bud worm ( Erciiiicfis Hai'istriata) which was 



