48 MISC. PUBLICATION 174, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



DESCRIPTION 



Eupelmus atropurpureus is easily distinguishable from Eupelmella 

 vesicularis by the conformation of the mesoseutum, which is trilobed, 

 the prescutum being short and triangular, but distinctly set off by the 

 parapsidal grooves which merge at about the anterior one third of 

 mesoseutum, the posterior two thirds of mesoseutum with a broad 

 depression down the middle, the scapulae forming longitudinal ridges 

 which are not acute. It also differs in color, the scape being metallic, 

 the abdomen without a pale band at the base, and the ovipositor 

 sheaths uniformly black. 



Female. — Length 2.25 to 4 mm. Head a little wider than thorax, about twice 

 as broad as thick at the middle, the occiput very slightly concave ; vertex not 

 broad, precipitous behind but the margin not acute ; ocelli in a slightly obtuse 

 triangle, postocellar line nearly twice the ocellocular line, the latter a little 

 longer than the diameter of an ocellus : eyes moderately large, elliptical, sparsely 

 clothed with very short inconspicuous pile ; temple about one third as broad as 

 eye : viewed from in front the head a little broader than high, subtriangular ; 

 malar space about equal to half the»eye height : malar groove very distinct and 

 complete ; clypeus smooth, not distinctly separated from face, its anterior margin 

 nearly straight ; mandibles 3-toothed, all the teeth subacute : last joint of 

 maxillary palpi a little flattened and slightly expanded : antennal scrobes deep 

 anteriorly, shallow above, subtriangular ; frons. upper part of vertex, and 

 temples finely reticulated ; face, cheeks, and lower part of frons more strongly 

 rugulose. the face with a low, nearly smooth ridge extending from between 

 antennal fossae to clypeus. Antennae inserted below the eyes, clavate. obliquely 

 truncate at apex ; scape slightly thickened, flattened on outer side, rounded and 

 reticulated on inner side ; pedicel about twice as long as broad, a little shorter 

 than the two following joints ; ring joint not quite so long as broad : second, 

 third, and fourth flagellar joints subequal in length and successively increasing 

 a little in thickness : second a little more, the fourth a little less, than twice as 

 long as thick : fifth a little longer than broad : sixth quadrate ; seventh and 

 eighth slightly transverse : club 3-jointed, ovate, about as long as three preced- 

 ing joints, a little broader than last funicle joint, and slightly flattened or 

 impressed on the ventral side : the whole flagellum covered with short hairs. 

 and each joint, except the ring joint and the first funicle joint, with a single 

 series of elongate sensoria at apex. Thorax fully twice as long as broad ; 

 prothorax forming a prominent conical neck ; mesoseutum a little longer than 

 broad, weakly reticulated, the prescutum weakly convex, the scapulae forming 

 rounded ridges on each side of the median depression ; scutellum and axillae 

 very finely reticulated, the scutellum narrow, rounded at apex, weakly convex, 

 and nearly acute at base ; propodeum very short : mesopleura large, shining, 

 with shallow reticulation. Legs as in aUi/nii except that the hind tibia appar- 

 ently has only one spur. Fore wings either well developed or reduced to short 

 truncate stubs which extend only slightly beyond the propodeum : fore wing, 

 in the only winged specimen seen, extending not quite to apex of abdomen, 

 nearly three times as long as broad ; marginal vein shorter than submarginal, 

 about twice as long as stigmal, and one and one half times postmarginal vein ; 

 base of wing more sparsely ciliated than disk but not bare, the costal cell 

 ciliated ; hind wing about four fifths as long and half as wide as fore wing. 

 Abdomen uniformly weakly reticulated, sometimes a little longer and sometimes 

 a little shorter than head and thorax, more or less cylindrico-conical. often 

 slightly compressed, sessile, convex or flattened above ; the first four tergites 

 deeply emarginate at apex, the fifth longer than the third and fourth combined, 

 its apical margin triangularly produced and concealing from view nearly all of 

 the sixth and seventh tergites ; ovipositor extending beyond apex of abdomen 

 about the length of the first and second joints of hind tarsus combined. 



General color purplish black with an aeneous cast, the inner eye margin 

 more or less bluish green: antennae entirely black, the scape and pedicel 

 slightly metallic ; tegulae black ; wings hyaline ; all coxae and femora black ; 

 fore and hind tibiae black with broad apical band pale yellow ; middle tibiae 

 yellow at base and apex, blackish in the middle ; tarsi yellow with the apical 

 2 or 3 joints blackish ; ovipositor sheaths black, without a pale band. 



