126 Psyche [August 



A NEW SPECIES OF LEPIDOPRIA FROM NORTH 



AMERICA. 



By Charles T. Brues, 

 Bussey Institution, Harvard University. 



I received recently from Mr. J. J. Davis of the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology a very interesting Diapriid parasite of the genus Lepi- 

 dopria which was reared by Mr. J. A. Hyslop from a Dipterous 

 puparium found in an adult June-beetle. According to Mr. Davis 

 the puparium was probably Cryptotneigenia thelitis. The Diapriid 

 is thus a secondary parasite of the June-beetle, but actually lives 

 in the Cryptomeigenia which is in accordance with the known 

 habits of the other members of the family which have been reared 

 from various Diptera. This is the first Lepidopria to be found in 

 the Western Hemisphere as the only species hitherto described, 

 L. pedestris Kieffer, was found in Italy. ^ 



From the form of the body which is exceeding ant-like, one 

 might be led to suppose that the members of Lepidopria like those 

 of the related Solenopsia are myrmecophilous, but such is evi- 

 dently not the case, at least with the present species. Although 

 there are quite considerable differences between the European 

 and North American species I think that both can, at least for the 

 present, be considered congeneric. The most striking disparity 

 appears in the form of the antennae, but as these organs are very 

 highly modified in the closely related Solenopsia one cannot rea- 

 sonably place very great weight upon them as generic characters. 



Following is a description of the new form : 



Lepidoria aberrans sp. nov. 



9 . Length. Piceous, the thorax and base of the abdomen 

 fuscous; legs and antennae yellow. Antennae 12- jointed, stout; 

 scape arcuate, as long as the pedicel and first four joints of the 

 flagellum together; pedicel one-half longer than broad, tip as wide 

 as the apex of the scape; first joint of flagellum two-thirds as long 

 as the pedicel and much narrower; second to seventh joints of 

 flagellum short and broad, strongly transverse; club three-jointed, 



» Andr6, Hym6n. Europe et Alg6rie, Vol. 10, p. 869. (1911). 



