248 ICHNEUMONID.E. 



and varietal forms, having the legs black, with the anterior tibia? 

 and the basal half of the hind femora red. 



A remarkable abnormal 6 of this species, taken by Dr. Capron 

 in Surrey, is no\v in my collection, in which the nervellus does 

 not. touch the first recurrent nervure at all, but is emitted by the 

 median a quarter of a millimetre beyond the emission of the first 

 recurrent ; in all other respects the specimen is normal, with red 

 legs and immaculate scutellum. 



This species is not uncommon on the continent of Europe in 

 June in woody and grassy places ; Eatzeburg has bred it in 

 Germany from Diacrisia lubricipeda and Cucullia arlemisice iu July; 

 Dr. Giraud has raised the var. illusor in France from Pieris 

 brassica, and, in Prussia, Brischke also bred it from Hadena 

 contiyua. It is by no means an uncommon species in Britain, 

 though the type form appears to be much the rarer. 



It has been bred from a dozen Bombycid and Pierid hosts, but 

 especially from the pupse of Noctuid moths, and is very beneficial 

 in destroying such pests as Pieris brassicce, Polia oleracea and 

 Baraihra brctssicce. 



The only Indian specimen I have seen is a male, taken by 

 Brunetti at Darjiling along with several Palaearctic Bassids, and 

 this circumstance strengthens my conviction that the insect is 

 nothing but a melanic form of the var. illusor, Grav., with red 

 hind femora, of this common species. It is, however, a somewhat 

 small specimen of only 8 raillim., with the abdomen immaculate 

 black, though in all other particulars entirely typical. 



174. Exetastes lucifer, sp. n. 



J. A bright species, with pale scutellum and red abdomen. 

 Head transverse and somewhat narrowed behind the eyes ; face, 

 clypeus and mandibles pubescent, dull, closely punctate and 

 flavous ; clypeus subdiscrete, not short, centrally impressed, 

 apically rounded and brunneous ; epistoma prominent. Antenna 

 elongate, apically gradually attenuate and as long as the body, 

 with the twelfth to nineteenth flagellar joints flavous throughout, 

 and the basal only one-third longer than the second. Thorax 

 stout and punctate, black, with only the pronotum white ; meso- 

 notum closely and very finely punctate, with no trace of notauli ; 

 metathorax very strongly punctate, with the arete and apophyses 

 entirely wanting, pettolar area barely indicated basally ; spiracles 

 linear. Scutellum bright flavous, with its extreme base alone 

 black. Abdomen fusiform, glabrous and subnitidulous, pilose and 

 broadest behind the centre ; red, with the extreme base and three 

 or four anal segments infuscate ; first segment slightly curved 

 and a little dilated towards the apex, with the postpetiole but 

 slightly broader than the petiole; second and third segments 

 subequal in length ; anus subcompressed, with the valvulae not 

 exserted. Legs normal and red ; cox and trochanters black, 

 with the front ones flavous beneath ; hind larsi, apices of their 



