i 7 4 M - w - R - de V. GRAHAM 



fit Walker's description of tenuicornis (1833) or his redescription (1839 : 287), though 

 some Scottish $$ approach the required condition. Possibly Walker's synonymy 

 was correct, though it seems rather doubtful. 



Miscogaster ovata Walker. Lectotype $ designated by Graham (1956 : 77). 



Sphegigaster agriope Walker. Syntypes, 2 (J. LECTOTYPE, the first, bearing 

 a Waterhouse label. 



Kentema viride Delucchi. I have not seen the type, which is in Dr. Delucchi's 

 collection ; but from the description viride seems likely to be a form of megapterus. 

 I have dwarf specimens of megapterus which fit the description of viride ; the 

 characters used for distinguishing the latter from ovatum Walker [=megapterus 

 Walker] by Delucchi (1955 : 94) do not seem to be constant. 



Britain, Ireland, Sweden. Not uncommon in Britain. 



Biology. Reared in England from Phytobia pygmaea (Mg.) on Brachypodium 

 sylvaticum (Huds.) Beauv. and on Deschampsia caespitosa (L.) Beauv. ; from 

 Phytobia incisa (Mg.) on Phalaris arundinacea L. (G. C. D. Griffiths) (material in 

 BM(NH)). Imagines taken in June and August-October. 



Merismus (Merismus) splendens sp. n. 



$. Body and coxae bright green to blue-green. Antennae blackish ; scape more or less 

 testaceous in its proximal half. Legs except coxae bright testaceous with the fifth segment of 

 all tarsi brown ; sometimes the rest of the fore tarsi is brown, whilst the mid tibia is sometimes 

 brownish. Tegulae testaceous, or partly infuscate. Wings hyaline ; venation fusco-testa- 

 ceous. Length 2-15 to 2-7 mm. 



Head in dorsal view (Text-fig. 134) twice or hardly more than twice as broad as long ; 

 temples rounded off, usually converging only slightly, rather less than half as long as eyes ; 

 POL about 1-3 times OOL. Eyes 1-3 times as long as broad, separated by about 1-35 times 

 their length. Malar space very slightly more than one third the length of an eye. Clypeus 

 polished, nearly smooth. Left mandible with three teeth, right mandible with four. Head 

 with reticulation only very slightly raised above the general surface ; genae, immediately 

 behind the malar sulcus, shiny and smooth or virtually so ; lower face (on either side of clypeus) 

 tending to have the areoles of the reticulation slightly elongated in the transverse axis. Anten- 

 nae inserted well above the level of the ventral edge of the eyes ; scape nearly reaching the 

 level of the vertex, its length about equal to the transverse diameter of an eye, and equal to or 

 slightly greater than the length of the clava ; combined length of pedicellus and flagellum 

 1 -25 to 1 -3 times breadth of head ; pedicellus nearly twice as long as broad, from a little shorter 

 than, to 1-4 times as long as, the first funicular segment ; funicle proximally slightly stouter 

 than the pedicellus, thickening only very slightly distad ; first funicular segment 1-3 to 1-7 

 times as long as broad, following segments slightly longer than broad, except the sixth which is 

 quadrate ; clava hardly broader than the sixth funicular segment, 2-7 to 2-9 times as long as 

 broad, nearly or fully as long as the three preceding funicular segments together, without a 

 terminal spine ; sensilla numerous, in one (sometimes slightly irregular) row on each funicular 

 segment. 



Pronotal collar with a very sharp, rather strongly raised anterior carina, behind this nearly 

 smooth except for some alutaceous sculpture at the shoulders. Mesoscutum about 1 -8 times as 

 broad as long, with strong, complete, punctate notauli ; its surface shiny, the reticulation only 

 slightly raised above the general surface and with rather thin walls, somewhat coarse on the 

 mid lobe, very fine on the lateral lobes, the areoles composing it tending to be rhomboidal or 



