SERPHOID AND CHALCIDOID PARASITES OF THE HESSIAN" FLY 87 



very slightly longer than ocellocular, the latter equal to 2y 2 to 3 times the 

 diameter of an ocellus ; temples poorly denned, strongly receding from the eye 

 margins. Antennae inserted slightly below the middle of head ; pedicel shorter 

 than in fulvipes, about twice as long as broad, not longer than first funicle 

 joint plus the ring joints ; first, second, and third funicle joints a little longer 

 than broad, fourth to sixth subquadrate. Thorax about one and one half times 

 as long as broad; parapsidal grooves shallow but distinct anteriorly, effaced 

 posteriorly ; propodeum not so long as scutellum, the neck with a deep con- 

 striction basally above, the lateral folds strong and complete ; the area between 

 the folds coarsely punctate, laterad of the folds mostly punctate, the spiracles 

 elongate oval or elliptical. Fully developed wing about two and one third 

 times as long as broad, the venation as in fulvipes. Abdomen as broad as 

 thorax, a little more robust than usual in fulvipes, conic-ovate, convex above, 

 the first tergite much broader than long and constituting less than half the 

 length of abdomen, the second tergite one third as long as the first, the first 

 tergite perfectly smooth and polished and without a transverse row of hairs, 

 the second to fourth also polished and bare. Color bluish green with little or 

 no aeneous cast ; the scape, at least apically, and the pedicel more or less 

 dark fuscous ; the flagellum brownish to black ; the coxae all metallic green ; 

 the remainder of legs pale yellow. 



Male. — Differing from the male of fulvipes by being metallic green in color 

 and by having the first tergite more transverse. Wings varying in development 

 from mere short stubs to those of normal length, but the coxae, even in sub- 

 apterous individuals, metallic. Funicle joints variable in length but in typi- 

 cal examples all longer than broad. Propodeum usually with a weak median 

 carina. 



No subapterous females have been seen, but the wings of at least 

 two of the specimens studied are distinctly smaller than the normal 

 wing, and it is probable that subapterous females do occur. 



The relatively shorter first tergite, the slightly shorter antennal 

 pedicel, the slightly larger punctures on scutellum and mesoscutum, 

 together with the more distinctly green color of the head, thorax, 

 and abdomen, will have to be depended upon for separation of this 

 species from the fully winged form of fulvipes having metallic 

 coxae. 



REVIEW OF LITERATURE 



This species was first described by Lindeman, who characterized 

 it as a variety of his Merisus intermedins, a species now considered to 

 by the same as M. destructor (Say) . Lindeman's specimens were from 

 Eussia. Miss Ormerod records sending to Lindeman specimens 

 which were reared in England from the hessian fly and which he 

 determined as belonging to M. intermedium var. micropterus. 



Baeotomus coxalis Ashmead was described in 1897 from specimens 

 reared by Marchal in France, and reference to this identification was 

 made by Marchal at nearly the same time that the original descrip- 

 tion was published. Ashmead indicated both Phytophaga destruc- 

 tor and Mmjetiola avenue (Marchal) as hosts, but Marchal noted only 

 the last-named species. 



In 1913 Kurdjumov described EupterOmalus arvensis in a paper 

 dealing with the Pteromalidae parasitic upon the hessian fly in Rus- 

 sia, and this species was subsequently mentioned as a parasite of the 

 fly in Russia by both Znamenski and Meyer. On the authority of 

 L. Biro, Hans Blunck, in 1931, placed Lindeman's Merisus intermedins 

 var. micropterus and Ashmead's Baeotomus coxalis in synonymy 

 with Meraporus gramvinicola Walker. 



In the United States National Museum are 5 male specimens and 

 1 female mounted with minuten pins on a piece of cork and bearing 

 the label "Merisus intermedins var. micropterus Lindeman." The 



