240 
PAEASITES OF GIPSY AND BROWN-TAIL MOTHS. 
THE GENUS CHALCIS. 
The first few boxes of parasite material which were received in 
1905 produced among other things quite a large number of Chalcis, 
a part of which issued from the pupae of the gipsy moth and a part 
from dipterous puparia, supposed at that time to be those of tachinid 
parasites of the same host. All of them appeared to be of one species, 
m Ohalcis jlavipes, and on the supposition that those which appeared 
to issue from the gipsy-moth pupae might actually have come from 
tachinids which were inside, all were destroyed. 
In 1906 and 1907 very few Chalcis were received from any source 
and there was no opportunity to determine the true host relations 
of the European species. In 1908 a considerable shipment of gipsy- 
moth pupae from Italy arrived in good condition for the first time 
since 1905, and another shipment from Japan, also in good condition, 
reached the laboratory almost coincidently. Both were soon found 
to contain Chalcis in some numbers, and, as it soon developed, in 
considerable variety. 
It is not necessary to go into any details as to the steps through 
which it was finally decided that no less than six species of Chalcis 
were present in these two shipments, of which two were easily sepa- 
rable by conspicuous structural and color characters. The others 
were more or less confusing to one who had only a few doubtfully 
identified specimens in the collection, and little knowledge of what 
were the characteristics of a species in the genus. 
With the assistance of biological and geographical characters, the 
separation was finally effected, and the 6 have been since definitely 
identified by Mr. Crawford, as below. To the list are added 2 more, 
1 of which is Japanese and the other American, making a total of 
8 in all that have been definitely associated with the one host. 
Ohalcis Jlavipes Panz. Primary parasite of the gipsy moth in 
Europe. 
Chalcis obscurata Walk. Primary parasite of the gipsy moth in 
Japan. 
Chalcis caUipus Kirby. Primary parasite of the gipsy moth in 
Japan, according to rearing note attached to a specimen forwarded 
to the laboratory through the kindness of Mr. Kuwana. 
Chalcis fiskei Crawf. Parasite of the tachinids Crossocosm in 
sericarise and Tachina japonica in Japan, and thereby a secondary 
Chalcis compsilurx Crawf. Parasite of Compsilura concinnata in 
America, and therefore a secondary parasite of the gipsy moth. 
( Chalcis ovata Say has never been reared as a parasite of the gipsy 
moth, although it is not improbable that it will be found to attack 
it when the moth shall extend its range southward into territory 
where the Chalcis is more common than it appears to be in eastern 
Massachusetts.) 
