162 THR ENTOMOLOGIST. 



femora not emarginate beneath ; hind coxa3 and femora fulvous, with 

 apices of former whitish, and the trochanters subinfuscate ; hind 

 tibiae dull white, infuscate at both base and apex, and subincrassate 

 before the former ; apical hind tarsal joint at most thrice longer than 

 penultimate ; claws of female basally lobate. Areolet small, sub- 

 sessile, and strongly transverse ; stigma pale piceous or luteous ; 

 nervellus subgeniculate, though but obsoletely intercepted, a third 

 below its centre. Length, 4-6 mm. <? , ? . 



The elongate segments and rufescent thorax lend this species 

 much the facies of Ephialtes, to which genus I was at first 

 inclined to refer it ; it is, however, a true Pimpla of the Epiiirus 

 group, and very distinct among our indigenous species, where it 

 should stand between P. pomorum, Ratz., and P. gallicola, Mori. 

 I have been at some pains to place it in the palfearctic fauna, 

 and find its closest allies to be the black P. vesicaria, Ratz. 

 (Ichn. d. Forst. i. 115), and the pale-faced P. pictifrons, Thoms. 

 (Opusc. Ent. viii. 757) ; but it appears to most closely approach 

 the Mallorcan P. erythronota, Kriech. (An. Soc. Espan. Nat. 

 Hist. 1894, p. 248), a larger and stouter insect with the abdomen 

 much less cylindrical. 



Mr. Lyle has been so good as to present me with the type of 

 both sexes. 



Pimpla has very rarely been raised from Diptera, and I am 

 aware of but two instances of the kind: Rondani once bred in 

 Italy what he called P. alternans from Asphondylia genista, 

 Lw., and I have quoted at some length (Ichn. Brit. iii. 88) 

 Giraud's observations on P. detrita, bred from the galls of 

 Ochtiphila poly stigma, Mg., on Triticum repens in Austria. 



[With reference to the two species of Chalcididae mentioned in 

 the foregoing note, M. I'Abb^ Kieffer has most kindly identified 

 one as Eurytoma dentata ; the other is a species of Pteromalus. 

 I have not yet been able to clear up the question as to whether 

 they are direct parasites of the Cecidomyid, or hyperparasites 

 through the Ichneumonid. The fact that several of the Eury- 

 tomini are known to be either partly or entirely vegetable- 

 feeders must also be taken into consideration. 



G. T. Lyle.] 



A BIOLOGICAL INQUIRY INTO THE NATURE OP 

 MELANISM IN AMPHIDASYS BETULARIA, Linn. 



By S. H. Leigh. 



Melanism in British moths is a subject that has given rise to 

 much discussion and speculation in several entomological and 

 other journals, but notwithstanding this we really know very 

 little of the causes which operate in the production of melanic 



