124 



MISC. PUBLICATION 17 4, U.S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



DISTRIBUTION 



Present records, while few in number, indicate that this species 

 may be distributed over much of the eastern and central portions 

 of the United States. Specimens in the National Museum collection 

 are from the following localities: Montoursville, Pa.; Union City, 

 Tenn.; Centralia, 111.; Sioux City, Iowa; and Elk Point, S.Dak. 



IMPORTANCE 



This species cannot be said to be of any importance as a check on 

 the hessian fly. Its parasitism of that host is believed to be more in 

 the nature of an accident than otherwise. 



Figure 28. — Centrodora speciosissima (Girault) : A, Adult female; B } female antenna; 

 C, male antenna ; D, wings of female. A, x 50 



CENTRODORA SPECIOSISSIMA (Girault) 



(Fig 28) 



Paraphelinus speciosissimus Girault, Jour. N.Y. Ent. Soc. 19 : 181, 1911 ; 

 Mercet, Mus. Cien. Nat, [Spain] Trab. no. 10, p. 108, 1912; Howard, Ent. Soc. 

 Wash. Proc. 16 : 81, 1914 ; MeConnell, Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 9 : 98, 1916 ; Girault, 

 Ent. News 27 : 405', 1916 ; Waterston, Bui. Ent. Research 8 : 52, 1917. 



Centrodora speciosissima Mercet, Bol. R. Soc. Espan. Hist. Nat. 18 : 106, 109, 

 1918; Gahan, U.S. Natl. Mus. Proc. 55:403, figs. 1-2, 1919; Hill and Smith, 

 Jour. Agr. Research 36 : 153, 155, 1928 ; Mercet, Eos 6 : 294, 1930. 



DESCRIPTION 



Centrodora speciosissima may be distinguished from all other par- 

 asites of the hessian fly by its unusual color pattern, the head being 

 dark reddish above, strongly fuscous below, the thorax mostly bright 



