SOUTH AMERICAN AND FLORIDIAN DISJUNCTS IN 
THE SONORAN GENUS COMPSOCRYPTUS 
(HYMENOPTERA: ICHNEUMONIDAE). 
By Charles C. Porter 1 
Department of Biological Sciences, Fordham University 
Bronx, NY 10458 
Introduction 
Taxonomy 
Most Compsocryptus may be recognized at a glance by their 
elegantly yellow banded brown or black wings, large and anteriorly 
wide areolet, short and weak notauli, axillus intermediate in posi- 
tion between the anal margin of the hind wing and the submediella, 
strong ventro-lateral carina on postpetiole, and long, upcurved 
ovipositor. 
My concept of this genus agrees, as to species included, with 
Townes’ most recent definition (1969:203-4). Several of Townes’ 
diagnostic features, however, do not apply to the Compsocryptus I 
have examined (C.fasciipennis, C.fuscofasciatus, C. melanostigma, 
C. texensis, and C. xantho stigma). All Compsocryptus I have seen 
possess a sharp and strong subvertical groove externo-ventrall> near 
the base of the hind coxa, while Townes describes the hind coxa as 
“without a groove” (1969:203). All Compsocryptus examined by me 
have, in the female only, a prominent crescentic to subtriangular 
baso-lateral flange at the base of the petiole, while Townes main- 
tains that the petiole is “without a lateral tooth at the base” 
(1969:203). Compsocryptus forms a compact genus whose species, 
despite their far-flung and discontinuous distribution, seem unusu- 
ally homogeneous in color and structure. I thus suspect that all 
members of the genus will turn out to have a basal first gastric 
projection in the female and a strong hind coxal groove. 
'Research Associate, Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Florida Department of 
Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry, P.O. Box 1269, 
Gainesville FL 32602. 
Manuscript received by the editor May 28, 1985 
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