HYMENOPTEEOUS PARASITES OF THE WEEVIL. 53 



BRACONID^. SIGALPHIN^. 



SigalpJius curculionis Fitch. Previous to the summer of 1908 the 

 first record of rearing this species (see fig. 11) from the boll weevil was 

 considered doubtful, but beginning in August it was reared repeatedly 

 in material from Huston and Monroe, La., and Natchez, Miss. Its 

 other hosts are Conotrachelus affinis Boheman in hickory nuts ; Cono- 

 tracJielus elegans Boheman in petioles of hickory at Dallas, Tex., and 

 in galls of Pliylloxera devastatrix on pecan {Hicoria pecan) at Dallas 

 and Victoria, Tex. ; Conotrachelus juglandis Le Conte in walnuts {Jug- 

 lans nigra); Conotrachelus nenuphar Herbst in fruit of plum, peach, 

 etc. ; Tyloderma foveolatum Say in stems of Onagra biennis at Wash- 

 ington, D. C. ; Trichoharis texana Le Conte in stems of Solanum rostra- 

 turn; Trichoharis trinotata 

 Say in stems of potato {Sol- 

 anum tuberosum); and Zygo- 

 haris xanthoxyli Pierce in 

 seed of Xanthoxylum clava- 

 herculis. 



Urosigalphus anthonomi 

 Crawford has never been 

 reared since the original 

 records which were made 



at Brownsville Tex. ^^'^- ^^- — Sigalphus curcuHoms: a, Male; h, female; c, an- 



__.,-, ^ . tenna. All enlarged. (After Riley.) 



Urosigalphus schwarzi 

 Crawford. This Guatemalan boll weevil parasite has never been 

 reared in the United States. 



Urosigalphus n, sp. At Arlington, Tex., in 1909, a single specimen 

 was reared from an isolated cocoon. 



BEACONING. 



Microhracon mellitor Say.^ This parasite (see fig. 12) still holds 

 the lead as the most important boll-weevil parasite. Its other 

 host relations are only partially discovered. The following hosts 

 have been ascertained: Desmoris scapalis Le Conte in heads 

 of Sideranthus rubiginosus; Smicraulax tuberculatus Pierce in 

 stems of Phoradendron flavescens; Anthonomus albopilosus Dietz in 

 seed of Croton spp.; Anthonomus eugenii Cano in fruit of pepper 



1 Bracon mellitor Say is recorded by Girault (1907) as a parasite of the lesser peach, borer (Synanthedon piC' 

 tipes Grote and Robinson) and of the peach borer (Sanninoidea exitiosa Say). The gregarious habit of these 

 parasites appears to prove that the determination was incorrect. Mr. F.E. Brooks^ of West Virginia, has fur- 

 nished the record of this species from Sanninoidea exitiosa and also from Craponius inxqualis Say at French 

 Creek, W. Va. The determinations were made in the Bureau of Entomology. Dr. F. H. Chittenden states 

 that he reared this species from the strawberry leaf-roller, Ancylis comptana Froelich (fragarise Walsh and 

 Riley), at Cabin John, Md., July 9, 1899. It is probable that all parasites of Lepidoptera determined as 

 Bracon mellitor belong to some other species. The lepidopterous and coleopterous parasites are not dis- 

 tinguishable by structural characters, but are so different in habits that it is considered advisable to 

 call the lepidopterous parasite Microbracon dorsator Say and the coleopterous parasite M. mellitor Say. 



