196 ORDER HYMENOPTERA. 



Evaniidael 



Pelexinus poLiTURATOR. P. poHcerotor (Taht.). (Plate xxvi, fig. 7.) 



AnteniKe black, long and filiform, marked with two yellow bands at the extremities : 



ocelli distinct. Head, eyes, thorax, abdomen, and legs black. Palpi lour, slender, two 



long and two short. Legs slender, but the hind-tibiae are tliick and strong. Abdomen 



elongated, consisting of six joints j the elongated rings long oval. Wings pellucid and 



brown. 



This singular insect is not uncommon in New-England and New-York in antnmn. By 



the roadsides, in September and October, it is seen flying slowly, as if borne down by its 



long abdomen. When caught, it attempts to sting, and is capable of inflicting a slight 



wound. 



Ophion macrurum ( Fabr.) ; Ichneumon ( Drury). ( Plate xxvii, fig. 5.) 



Head small, dark orange : eyes large, black, oblong ; ocelli shining black. Antennse 

 nearly the length of the insect, brown orange and thread-like. Color <jf all the other 

 parts of the insect brown orange, except the wings, which are transparent. Ihoiax 

 short. Abdomen arched, three times as long as the thorax, and attached to it by 8 

 very narrow or thread-like base, widening in depth, but compressed laterally : ex- 

 tremity obliquely truncate. Legs slender ; hind ones the longest : tips of the fore- 

 tibite single, the others double-spined. Length of body one inch. 

 This is one of the most remarkable of our ichneumon-flies, and appears during the 

 latter part of summer and early in autumn, when it is observed busily hovering over 

 places where there are thickets of brambles, solidagos, asters, etc. in search of caterpillars 

 or other suitable objects for the deposition of its eggs. It is common in Massachusetts and 

 New-York. 



Ophion mundus. ( Plate xxvii, fig. 4.) 



Color black : antennffi, tibiae and tarsi yellow : antennal nasns, anterior orbits, and front 

 greenish yellow ; the antennae are black or brownish black at base. Thorax clothed 

 with hairs. Abdomen compressed : basal joint cylindrical ; second joint as long and 

 rather longer than the first. Forelegs fulvous yellow, except a brown stripe on the 

 under side : tibiae of the hindlegs fulvous yellow, except the tips, which are brown ; 

 feet all yellow, except the middle, which is brownish above. Length one inch. 



Ophion glabratus. ( Plate xxvii, fig. 3.) 



Antennae shorter than the body. Color dull honey-yellow : head and orbits yellow ; wings 



hyaline, transparent, with an oval longitudinal glabrous spot on the large cubital 



cell just beyond its middle ; eyes dusky or brownish. Metathorax with a transverse 



ridge near the articulation of the abdomen. Length four-fifths of an inch. 



