ORYPTODEMA. 313 



claws not pectinate. Areolet wanting ; nervellus subantefurcal 

 and intercepted below its centre. 



Ran<je. Bengal. 



This remarkable genus appears to approach nearest to SpJieco- 

 phaga, Westw. (Cacotropa, Forst.) in the conformation of its legs, 

 wings, mesonotura and petiolar spiracles, though differing in the 

 produced clypeus, convex and carapace-like abdominal segments, 

 bordered scutelltim, and in the metanotal are. It has somewhat 

 the facies of SpJiinctus in its short rnetanotum, somewhat slender 

 legs and produced clypeus ; but the claws are simple and the very 



Sieculiar conformation of the abdomen seems to relate it in some 

 egree to the Braconid CRYPTOGASTRES. Possibly it lias Cryptic! 

 associations in the elongate petiole with spiracles behind the 

 centre, but the former is not geniculate, while the metanotum is 

 distinctly sculptured and the areolet obviously wanting. If related 

 to Sphecop7iaya, its economy should be interesting, since that genus 

 is known to prey upon Vespa in the midst of their nests (cf, my 

 notes on the genus in Ent. Month. Mag. 1900, p. 117). There is 

 no affinity whatever between this genus and Hemigaster fasciatus, 

 as figured by Brulle (Nat. Hist. Ins. Hym. pi. xli, fig. 1, $ ), 

 which lias the terebra exserted to nearly half the length of the 

 abdomen and the apical segments evident ; though this differs 

 somewhat widely from his description (op. cit. iv, p. 266) " il a la 

 portion posterieure de 1'abdomen repliee et cachee sous les trois 

 premiers segments .... La tarriere est tres-courte dans VH. fas- 

 ciatus." 



"224:. Cryptodema anormis, sp. n. 



3 . A dull black species, with testaceous markings and white 

 pilosity. Head very broad and strongly transverse, coarsely and 

 coufluently punctate throughout ; vertex very narrow, frons 

 longitudinally carinate centrally and testaceous laterally ; face 

 longitudinally convex in the centre, testaceous and not discrete 

 from the coucolorous cheeks and clypeus, which latter is apically 

 black and subspinously produced ; mandibles stout and piceous, 

 with their apices darker. Antennce obsoletely pilose, nearly as 

 long as the body, filiform, with the flagellum of about thirty 

 elongate and cylindrical joints, those of the apical third sub- 

 attenuate and more discrete ; black, with the central nine joints 

 and more or less of the scape dull testaceous. Thorax very stout, 

 gibbous, not broader than the head, hardly longer than high, 

 discally scabriculous and laterally finely punctate; mesonotum 

 anteriorly vertical, with coarse recumbent hairs and distinct 

 though short notauli ; metanotum with the areola and postero- 

 intermedial area3 testaceous, remainder black ; areola confluent 

 with both basal and petiolar area3, emitting strong costulse and 

 long acuminate apophyses ; spiracles obliquely linear and not 

 large. Scutellum coarsely punctate and dull, feebly convex, black, 

 with its lateral and apical margins carinate and, like the hardly 



