S36 HALIDAY ON 



lata compressa : tarsi tibiis vix breviores articulis 1"°. — 4""'. longi- 

 tudine decrescentibus, metatarso antico baud dilatato. 



The wings being reduced to rudiments, the parts of the 

 thorax connected with these organs are very minute in this 

 genus. It is nearly allied to Spalangia, and with it may be 

 considered as forming a typical group/ from which Plrene 

 recedes by its peculiar trophi and compressed aculeus. 



Sp. 1. L. vespertina. Luteo testacea dor so ceneo micans 

 oculis et antennis apice fuscis. ? S (Long. ? .1.) 



Spalangia vespertina. — Cart. G. 



Vertex atque mesothoracis et abdominis dorsum obscuriora et aeneo- 



micantia : pedes pallidiores. 



On midsummer evenings I have twice taken females of this 

 singular little insect, wandering over the leaves of a book 

 which I was reading. Another time I found one lurking 

 among the florets of Taraxacum, as if for shelter from the 

 mid-day sun. The only male I have met with was drowned 

 in a basin of water. 



Gen. III. PiRENE. — HaUday. 



Caput ovatum, ore promimdo, fronte cancdiculata. Oculi 

 magni. AntenncB versus os msertce, breves, lO-articulatcc, 

 clava magna ovata S-atinulata. Collare transversum. 

 Abdomen subsessile compressum. 



Ocelli tres, in triangulum positi, postici oecipitales minuti : oculi 

 magni ovati pubescentes : frontis canalicula profunda in verticem 

 fere elongata, antrorsum bifurca : antennae capite longiores, scapo 

 elongate lineari aut dilatato, pedicello crasso clavato, articulis 

 flagelli inferioribus brevissimis, ultimis 3 clavam latam ovatam 

 constituentibus : labrum membranaceum, transversum rotundatum, 

 subtiliter ciliatum : mandibulse oblongse apice latae acute 4-den- 

 tatae : mentum obconicum, labium elongato-conicum tenue — 

 palpi minutissimi punctiformes, fere obsoleti : maxilla lata com- 

 pressa, lobo trigono attenuato, dorso incrassato indistincte 



' Though I have not seen the genus Theocolax (Westwood), I have little 

 doubt that it is to be referred to this tribe, and very near the present. The club 

 of the antenna?, in that 3-jointed, is here solid ; but from analogy and a com- 

 parison of the male it must be considered to represent three joints, which might 

 perhaps be separated by maceration. The face in that genus is described as 

 unarmed ; in this there are three sharp points. 



