THE ENTOMOLOGIST 



Vol. XLVIL] MAY, 1914. [No. 612 



A MONOGEAPH OF THE GENUS JOPPIDIUM, Walsh. 

 Family Ichneumonid^ : Subfamily Cryptin^ : Tribe Cryptides. 



By Claude Morley, F.Z.S. 



" The species of this genus are slender in form, especially 

 that of the male, the legs slender, the posterior pair unusually 

 long ; the antennae of the female often thickened before the 

 apex, somewhat as in Joppa ; the wings ample, and in the 

 Mexican species, so far as known, entirely blackish ; the abdomen 

 more slender than in Cryptus, the first segment being long and 

 linear," says Cresson, who places them between Cryptus and 

 Phygadeuon in 1873. As a matter of fact, it is extremely similar 

 to Acroricnus in its produced mouth, and I fail to discover any 

 pertinent structural distinction ; if it be thought expedient to 

 preserve Walsh's genus, its invariably infumate wings and 

 western range will serve as sufficient characters. The American 

 species are easily distinguished, and quite distinct inter se. But 

 little synonymy has hitherto arisen. 



A detailed and fairly good description of the genus is given, 

 with an excellent figure of the front wing of Ichneumon sp. for 

 comparison, by Walsh in his erection (Trans. Acad. Sc. St. 

 Louis, iii. 1873, p. 69) ; but the author obviously had no idea of 

 its systematic position, for he compares it with such diverse 

 things as Baryceros, Joppa, Hehvigia and Euceros, with none of 

 which it is at all closely connected. 



From the somewhat irregular method of sexual erection of 

 his genus Joppoceras by Ashmead (Proc. Nat. Mus. U.S. 1900, 

 pp. 39-40), one is led to suppose it founded upon a new and 

 hitherto unpublished species, named in MS. dubiosum by Cresson, 

 difi'ering from the type of Joppidium — there misprinted raficeps, 

 Walsh — solely in having the metathorax both strongly striate 

 and bicarinate in place of unitranscarinate, as in the latter ; for 

 in both the metathoracic spiracles are elongate with wings black 

 or infuscate, and areolet both large and parallel-sided. As a 

 matter of fact, I believe he simply wished to split off the second 

 of the following species into a new genus, certainly upon 

 insufficient characters. 



ENTOM. — MAY, 1914. M 



