1967] 
Porter — Trachysphyrus 
31 
long as eye in dorsal view, a little less strongly receding and often 
slightly rounded-off. Mesoscutum: notauli traceable about 1/2-2/3 
the length of mesoscutum. Wing-Venation: 2nd abscissa of radius 
0. 6-1.0 times as long as 1st intercubitus ; upper part of nervellus 1.2- 
2.3 times as long as lower. Propodeum : a little longer and lower 
than in female with basal face more strongly sloping behind; spiracle 
1 .4-1.6 times as long as wide; basal trans-carina often very sharp and 
high; apical trans-carina often stronger than in female, but irregular; 
areola much wider than long in position; lateral longitudinal carinae 
averaging stronger and less irregular than in female, sharp basally 
and very high passing onto crista behind. 1 st gastric segment: post- 
petiole weakly expanded or almost parallel-sided, o. 7-0.8 times as 
wide apically as long from spiracle to apex; dorso-lateral carina fine 
but sharp, except sometimes weaker toward base on petiole; dorsal- 
carinae largely weakly suggested or quite sharp, at least toward apex 
of petiole and on base of postpetiole; micro-reticulation of postpetiole 
weaker, fading out well before apex; punctures on postpetiole aver- 
aging larger and more numerous than in female, emitting long and 
often in large part, but not consistently, overlapping setae. 2 nd 
gastric tergite: punctures obscure, but larger, more numerous, and 
often more definitely visible than in female, emitting long setae which 
mostly approach to exceed the length of their interspaces; setae of 
following tergites a little denser than those on 2nd. 
Collections: The holotype and five paratypes are in the collec- 
tion of Henry K. Townes at Ann Arbor, Michigan; a sixth paratype 
is in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University 
and a seventh in the collection of Charles C. Porter at Metuchen, 
New Jersey. 
Discussion: Ploplites differs from all known South American 
species of Trachysphyrus by the following combination of characters: 
gaster orange in female, black with extensive orange on intermediate 
tergites in male ; clypeal margin unusually sharp and slightly reflexed ; 
subalarum a thin, crescentic lamella; no contrastingly smoother area 
on mesopleuron along prepectal carina opposite speculum; mediella 
gently arched; axillus close to hind-margin of wing; propodeal cristae 
very large and prominently projecting; propodeal spiracle short-oval 
to almost round ; setae of female 2nd gastric tergite for the most 
part widely separated ; ovipositor only 0.3 times as long as fore-wing, 
its tip only 0.16-0.19 times as high at notch as long from notch to 
apex. 
Within Trachysphyrus j the present species is an aberrant member of 
the cosmopolitan but predominantly Holarctic and temperate South 
