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Se ee ra ted op Maat dt Stee ge ah age tatters ony Oa re | be SN ee Wea te We vee Ge pe berbe he Seda Bete Oe ght RA AREY tee a . voto hy a a ra Te a ee D viet Va ven ey a6 “A eaten ta vt 7 cope ey BET ES ‘ wT 8 or Ae er a wee eS a ' . ve He PH Fe dd HS vee weed ae 2 RS ‘ or ed ‘ ‘ Aare eye er ee ee ern) mans 7 Rene er ee ee Core ecm ee a tee ee vues Wok thes Vay se ee’ A apnea — ere i . Leg te te ee be wa Aw 'S ue 3 - eh ee RS bol de Ne Pay a be : a , rae + . Remo eg woe 7 * ” $ wo Ae PS ee A we Me Set Ste ee DS re ‘ @ae « % ‘ ‘ © ? 4 hoa ‘ . ” ' 24 . ” ae eh ’ ‘ oy ’ ‘4 e Gs is alee Wpae aete “ S75, 70678 f WLOO YS as : PROCEEDINGS » & 7 0 OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL. SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. Volume IV. 1896-1901. WASHINGTON, D. C. PUBLISHED BY THE SOCIETY. I9gOl. No. if (PP. ese November 5 ie ee f | PROCEEDINGS. 143 JANUARY 2, 1896. President Ashmead in the chair and the following members also present: Messrs. Schwarz, Benton, Heidemann, Marlatt, Pratt, Hubbard, Howard, Gill, Sudworth, Stiles, and Waite. The election of officers for 1896 resulted as follows: Presi- dent, C. L. Marlatt; vice-presidents, Theodore Gill and H. G. Hubbard; recording secretary, L. O. Howard; corresponding secretary, Frank Benton; treasurer, E. A. Schwarz; additional members executive committee, W. H. Ashmead, D. W. Coquil- lett, C. W. Stiles. At the conclusion of the election President- elect Marlatt took the chair and acknowledged i in a few remarks a honor done him. . Schwarz presented the following paper : SEMI-TROPICAL. TEXAS. By E. A. ScHwarz. In the year 1879 I had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the insect fauna of the vicinity of Columbus, Texas, on the lower Colorado River. The fauna at this point, both of the densely wooded river valley as well as of the adjoining more elevated prairies, is but little modified from the austroriparian fauna of Louisiana. West of the Guadalupe River a change in the character of flora and fauna gradually takes place, owing to the greatly diminished amount of rainfall. This is southwestern Texas, or more properly the low-lands of western Texas, and south of the Nueces River the characteristic features of this region attain their highest development. With the insect fauna of this region I became tolerably well acquainted the past year, during the investigation of the Mexican cotton-boll weevil (Az- thonomus grandis), carried on by the U. S. Department of Ag- riculture. It differs essentially from that of Columbus, Tex., but also, though in a lesser degree, from the fauna of the higher plateaus of Texas north and northwest of San Antonio. Still, southwestern Texas belongs, at least as far as the insects are con- cerned, to the lower Sonoran fauna, of which it forms a marked 2 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY subdivision,* but with marked affinities to the austroriparian region. The valley of the Rio. Grande nowhere forms a natural divid- ing line, and the flora and fauna of southwestern Texas extend into the State of Tamaulipas—how far south, I am unable to state. The explorers of the Mexican fauna have entirely neglected this _ region, and only a few representatives thereof are recorded in the Biologia Centrali- Americana. That a number of genera and species of animals belonging to the neotropical region extend northward along the tierra caliente of eastern Mexico and cross the Rio Grande into Texas has long since been recognized, but since nothing definite regarding the exact extent of the region where this tropical fauna is to be found north of the Rio Grande seems to be known, at least so far as the insects are concerned, I venture to place on record a few ob- servations made by myself during a very short visit to the lower Rio Grande in June, 1895. Collections made at Laredo, San Diego, Corpus Christi, and in the lower Nueces river valley prove that, with few exceptions, no tropical forms occur in that section, and the trip on the stage from Alice to Brownsville shows that the character of the coun- try does not change southward until the black alluvial soil of the delta of the Rio Grande is reached. Here, within the bends of the river, as well as along the various backwaters and old river arms (resacas) which dissect the delta, isolated areas or strips of larger or smaller extent are covered with a dense forest having thick undergrowth of varied shrubbery and a rich vegetation of lower plants, the like of which is not seen at any other place in southwestern Texas. ‘These forest jungles (in Florida they would be called hammocks) are the home of the semi-tropical insect fauna of Texas, which, so far as known to me, has, previous to the year 1895, never been investigated by any entomologist, since even many of the most abundant species are either entirely new or not yet recorded from the United States. If, confining myself to Coleoptera found by Prof. Townsend or myself near Browns- ville, I mention the genera Agra, Dasydactylus, Physorhinus, Achryson, Gnaphalodes, Amphionycha, Megascelis, Plectrotreta, Brachycoryne, Listronychus, Polypria (quite a number of others are not yet determined, or undescribed), no one can deny the ex- istence of a semi-tropical insect fauna along the north bank of the lower Rio Grande. The number of species composing this fauna is very pil ait an rear shel alone I estimate that, after proper ex- Ha Prof. E. D. one! in his paper ‘‘ ‘On the Zoological position of Texas ” (Bull. 17, U. S. Nat. Museum, 18So), calls this region the ‘* Texas district of the austroriparian fauna,” OF WASHINGTON. a ploration, between 300 and 400 species will be added to our lists. . , As stated above, these semi-tropical thickets occur in isolated patches in the lowest parts of the delta; wherever the ground ts a little more elevated, the usual mesquite and spiny chaparral, liberally interspersed with Opuntias, make their appearance, and with them the general fauna of southwestern Texas. To any one coming from the north into this region it becomes at once evident that the Arroyo Colorado, which is the northern- most of the old arms of the Rio Grande, forms the northern boundary of the semi-tropical flora and fauna, while, from infor- mation received from Prof. Townsend,* they extend up the river to the head of the same arroyo, or, at most, to the town of Ed- inburgh (Hidalgo). Toward the coast, the peculiar Yucca- covered ridges form a characteristic feature of the country, and, no doubt, harbor semi-tropical insects. Finally, the maritime fauna of the delta is semi-tropical and probably extends north of the mouth of the Arroyo Colorado as far as Corpus Christi Bay. In what way the semi-tropical fauna is continued southward through the State of Tamaulipas I am unable to state. The area thus circumscribed within the political boundaries of the United States is extremely small, in fact much smaller than that occupied by the semi-tropical region of Florida or Baja Cal- ifornia. Like the Floridian region, the Texan semi-tropical flora and fauna are doomed to almost complete extinction by the prog- ress of agriculture, and already at the time of my visit flourish- ing sugar-cane fields and corn-fields covered the major part of the area once occupied by the semi-tropical forest. The paper was briefly discussed by Messrs. Gill, Ashmead, Waite, and Howard. Dr. Gill said that Mr. Schwarz’s observa- tions on the extremely limited character of this fauna in Texas agreed with his own deductions from a study of fishes. Fresh- water fishes, he said, were extremely well adapted for faunal dis- tribution studies, on account of their necessary restrictions. We have, in the vicinity of Brownsville, our only representatives of certain characteristically tropical families of fishes, namely, Asty- anax and Heros. Mr. Ashmead spoke particularly of the So- noran fauna of southern Texas, and said that, from his examina- * See also Dr. V. Havard’s paper on the flora of western and southern Texas (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., VIII, 1885, p. 449-533). 4 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY tions of Hymenoptera, he had satisfied himself of the identity of the fauna of the San Diego region with that of portions of New Mexico, Arizona, and south California. He mentioned certain characteristic forms, particularly Haltichella and Orasema. Mr. Schwarz remarked that the bulk of the insects in the delta of the Rio Grande belonged to the southwestern Texas fauna. The more tropical species in Texas, just as in Florida, occur in island-like spots. In his paper on the semi-tropical fauna of Florida, he had predicted the probable extinction of this fauna by cultivation. At Lake Worth, according to recent collections made there by Mrs. Slosson and Dr. Hamilton, this had already been brought about. The Texas region is much smaller, and the semi-tropical fauna is sure to disappear from our political boun- daries, he thinks, as soon as the railroad reaches Brownsville. Mr. Schwarz also spoke of the fact that the palmetto (.SadaZ mexicana) is characteristic of the semi-tropical in Texas, but not so in Florida, since in the latter state Sabal palmetto extends far up the coast to South Carolina. A frofgos to this statement, Mr. Howard remarked that the palmetto occurs wild at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and that the finest specimens of the plant he had seen were growing out of doors in gardens in New Orleans, where they had not been hurt by the severe frost of last winter, which destroyed orange trees in New Orleans. Heasked whether the palmetto does not occur along the shores of the Gulf from Florida to New Orleans. Mr. Ashmead said that, in his opinion, it does. Mr. Howard gave a brief account of some of his experiences in south Texas north of Brownsville. Mr. Schwarz mentioned the peculiar fact that in Florida the true in- sect fauna of the palmetto by no means reaches the northern limits of the distribution of the plant. In the same way in Texas the characteristic fauna of the mesquite ceases at a point far south of the northern range of the plant. —Mr. Ashmead presented the following paper : ON THE GENERA OF THE EUPELMINZ. By WitiiAm H. ASHMEAD. The Lupelmine were first separated from Westwood’s family Exncyrtide as a distinct family under the name Lupe/motda OF WASHINGTON. 5 by Dr. Arnold Forster, in his Hymenopterologische Studien, in 1856, page 18, the type of the family being the genus Hwfe/- mus Dalman, erected in 1820. In this work Forster gives a table of the genera known to him, and tabulates seven genera—viz., Hlalidea, Polymoria, Ratze- burgta, Calosoter, Eupelmus, and Charitopus, of which five were, new, the genus Aatzeburgia being a new name for Husandalum Ratzeburg, preoccupied. //alédea is identical with MJetapelma Westwood, which was unknown to Forster, although characterized as early as 1835. Forster also overlooked the genera Uvrocryptus Westwood, founded in 1840, Phlebopenes Perty, 1834, and Priéonopelma Westwood, 1835. The latter I consider identical with Phledo- penes. A new genus, Chartlophus, was erected by Haliday in 1862, from Algiers, while the following year Motschulsky founded his genera Anastatus and Cacotropia from Ceylon. Walsh’s genus Antigaster was erected in 1869. It was suppressed by Howard in 1869, who considered it synonymous with Hapelmus. It is, however, a valid genus, but must give way to Axastatus Mot- schulsky, the older name. Balcha was described by Walker in 1864, AZyrmecopsis Walker, from Australia, in 1866, while in 1874 Forster de- scribed Charitolophus, a genus with branched antenne, from Europe, and Westwood Oodera from the Malay Archipelago. In 1883, Peter Cameron erected the genus Solindenza, from the Sandwich Islands, and in 1884, in Biologia Centrali-Amer- icana, he describes three new genera—Lrasema, Lutnes, and Asetrba. The last, however, has been shown recently by Dr. Howard to be identical with the genus Cerchyszus Westwood, in the Encyrtine. Finally, a remarkable genus, with branched antennez in the males, was founded by Howard in 1890, under the name of Tanaostigma, who placed it with the Axcyrtine, but which evidently belongs to this group on account of the distinct me- sonotal furrows. It is one of the links that bind these two sub- families together, and, as has already been suggested by Dr. Howard, will form a distinct tribe, with my Zaxaostigmodes, a closely allied genus described below. The above-mentioned genera are, so far as I know, all the de- scribed genera known up to the present time. In studying recently some South American, West Indian, and Tropical Hupelmine it became necessary for me to go over the literature on the subject very carefully, and the result is the dis- covery of several new genera, and as no complete table of the genera of this group has ever been published (the table in Mr. 6 . ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY Cresson’s synopsis* giving only a few of the known genera) it appeared to me that the early publication of a complete generic table of this difficult group would be appreciated by the student and add considerably to our knowledge of the structure and dis- tribution of these chalcidids. With this aim in view, I have therefore prepared the following table, which includes all the described genera except Balcha Walk., which is too insufficiently described to be incorporated : TABLE OF GENERA. Females. Posterior tibiz and first tarsal joint not compressed or not broad (rarely with tibie slightly compressed ).. 0.5, s.sis ue opaewateee whatecscunse papas seadsodisace 2 Posterior tibiz and first tarsal joint compressed and broad. Eyes hairy; axille meeting at base of scutellum; antenne 13- NORA GEE cada crip ssesh nanny SE TOR wre Ue ee (1) Metapelma Westw. BS MLOTIOT LOMIOTS DOTA ns concen enk Svs pasisav ie keh el p dawns «acces eda tvareo aires 3 Anterior femora much swollen. Winged; anterior femora armed with minute spines beneath; Ovipositor very LONG,. s65s0455...s eens scencsseanel 2) Oodera Westw. Wingless; anterior femora unarmed; ovipositor subexserted ; head large quadrate; eyes rounded, bare; temples broad. (3) Ooderella n. g. 3 First tarsal joint of middle legs with strong spines beneath............ 4 First tarsal joint of middle legs without strong spines beneath. Scutum of mesonotum not i axille triangular, meeting BE AROS tg cans oc skk bus we Vedgee ina bans seseaveubee (4) Charitopus Forst. 4. Frons rarely deeply excavated, although often with deep antennal furrows, the front ocellus never placed in the furrow............0..00 6 Frons deeply excavated, the front ocellus always placed in the furrow. DALOU Me SIIe Ot VOCE AOS cic ci aries aveks skenateuscibue eas besds sos seen 5 Middle tibiz very long. Antenne inserted near the border of the mouth. (5) Stenocera Walk. Antenne inserted far above the mouth border; postmar- ginal vein greatly lengthened ...... (6) Polymoria Forst. 5. Axillz not united at base, their inner suture strongly curved; post- marginal vein very short, scarcely ees or rarely longer than THO BLIGINAL VEIN i nay vahisnecasacid cas vecaniewus Ge, nepensley Forst. OMS OF go hd eRe UDA Fe AI BORED ce cople PBRIR EN ad ie Oh 7 Eyes hairy or pubescent. Scutellum with a broad base against the mesonotum, the axill therefore widely separated. Hind tibiz with 2 spurs. OF WASHINGTON. 7 Antenne inserted below the middle of the face, the stig- mal vein very long, curved............ (8) Calosoter Walk. Antenne inserted above the middle of the face, the stig- nal vein: very. BhOrt. 2.6 ois. c9sce crac (9) Chirolophus Hal. Hind tibiz with 1 spur (teste Cameron). | (10) Solindenia Cam. Scutellum with a narrow base against the mesonotum, the axille approximate or united at base. Second abdominal segment short, not incised at apical mar- gin. Stigmal vein not short; abdomen oval, narrower than the thorax, with the ovipositor subexserted. (11) Brasema Cam. Second, third and fourth abdominal segments usually incised at apical margins, the second segment the longest. Eyes not or scarcely convergent above, the vertex not narrow; frons with a deep A-shaped antennal furrow; antenne 13-jointed, ringed with white, inserted close to RIC MBO oa cinis icp 15 ocelli subtriangular arranged, the front ocellus a little farther away from the hind ocelli than are these to each other; maxillary palpi 4-jointed; antenne 13-jointed, widely separated at base, inserted rather close to the mouth, or below an imaginary line drawn from base of eyes, the scape long, cylindrical, slightly curved; flagellum rather slender, subclavate, the pedicel longer than the first joint of funicle. Thorax as in Avastatus, the scutellum with narrow base against meso- notum but the axillz do not quite meet at base; wings clouded, the stigmal vein nearly as long as the submarginal, the stigmal vein oblique, subclavate, about half the length of the postmarginal, which is about two- thirds the iength of the marginal; legs as in Hufelmus except the hind tibiz are distinctly flattened, but not so broad as in Metapelma. Abdomen clavate, narrowed toward base, depressed and ending in a long ovipositor, as long as, or nearly as long as, the abdomen; dorsal seg- ments I--3 incised at apical margins medially. Resembles the genus Azastatus but differs in shape of head in having the hind tibize flattened, by the pubescent eyes, long ovipositor and by the incisions of dorsal abdominal segments. (1) Tineobius citri n. sp. Female.—Length 3.5 mm. General color brownish-yellow or light ferruginous; flagellum black; eyes brown-black, pubescent; face below and between antenne metallic green; pronotum at sides and disk of mesopleura violaceous, clothed with sz/very pubescence; mesonotum, except the elevation anteriorly which is metallic green, the short metanotum and the abdomen except basal segment above and beneath which is white, geneous black; ovipositor as long as abdomen, black ringed with white before apex. Hind legs fuscous, hind femora paler beneath, the sharp ridge of hind tibiz and spot at base of first tarsal joint white; middle tibize dusky outwardly. Wings, except basal one third and extreme apex which are hyaline, fuscous. Type, No. 3465, U. 8S. N. M. Hab.—Paramatta, New South Wales. Described from one female bred by A. Koebele from a Tineid_ larva predaceous upon Chionaspis citré. (1) Tineobius californicus n. sp. Female.— Length 3.5 mm. Stature and general color similar to 7. cztrz but the face below antenne is not metallic, the prothorax is entirely brownish-yellow, the mesonotum has only a slight metallic tinge, the disk of the lobes being fuscous, the mesopleura have a silvery sheen due toa fine silvery pubescence, while.joints 1-3 of middle tarsi and joints 2-4 of hind tarsi are white, the basal joint being entirely fuscous without the white spot, the hind tibiz, however. and the legs otherwise, except the middle tibia is not fuscous outwardly, are as in 7. cé#r¢z. The abdomen, 1. _ ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY however, is entirely wneous, not white at base, while the ovipositor is en- tirely light brown. Type, No. 3466, U.S. N. M. Hab.—Kern County, California. Described from one female taken by Mr. A. Keebele. (15) IscHNOPSIS new genus, (Type 1. ophkthalmica.) Female.—Head transverse, as wide as the thorax antero-posteriorly, not especially thin, seen from in front rounded, the frons with a distinct A-shaped antennal furrow; eyes large, oval, pubescent and strongly con- vergent above, nearly contiguous, the vertex in consequence very narrow ; hind ocelli very approximate, the front ocellus placed far anteriorly; antenne 13-jointed, inserted below an imaginary line drawn from base of eyes; scape compressed, sharp-edged beneath; the flagellum subclavate, pubescent, the pedicel as long or a little longer than the first joint of funi- cle, joints 5 and 6 of funicle a little wider than long, the preceding all longer than wide. Thorax as in Metapelma; legs as in Hupelmus. Abdomen elongate clavate, ending in a prominent ovipositor, the first dorsal segment the longest and deeply incised at apical margin. (1) Ischnopsis ophthalmica sp. n. Female.—Length 4 mm.; ovipositor 1 mm. Bluish, with a metallic green tinge, shagreened; antennz neous or submetallic. the flagellum subclavate, with a dense black pubescence, the funicle joints long, the first the longest, the two following about three times as long as thick, the 4th half the length: ‘of the 3d, those beyond transverse. Eyes abnormally large, pubescent, convergent and almost meeting above, leaving a very narrow vertex. Face with a deep A-shaped furrow, the bottom of the furrow deep violet.‘ Mesonotum flat, but not deeply impressed; scutellum and axillz on the same plane, the former obconic, the latter triangular. Tegule and venation pallid; wings fuscous, the base and outer margin broadly to base of stigmal vein anda large spot at the apical middle white or hyaline; the marginal vein is as long as the submarginal, a little thickened at base; stigmal vein curved, clavate; postmarginal vein long. Legs brownish-yellow, with the anterior femora and tibiz, except the knees, and the middie and posterior femora and a band at apex of hind © tibiz, brown or black. Abdomen clavate, as long as the thorax, convex beneath, flat above, the first dorsal segment the longest, strongly emargi- nate at the middle; ovipositor half the length of the abdomen, ferrugi- nous. Hab.—St. Vincent. (H. H. Smith.) Described from a single specimen, OF WASHINGTON. | 17 (17) CERAMBYCOBIUS new genus. (Type Eupelmus cleri Ashm.) Head transverse, as wide as widest part of thorax, viewed from in front rounded, not longer than wide; temples narrow; face with a A-shaped antennal furrow; clypeus not separated; maxillary palpi 5-jointed; labial palpi 3-jointed; mandibles 3-dentate; eyes large, oblong oval, pubescent; antennz 13-jointed, inserted below an imaginary line drawn from base of eyes, widely separated at base, the scape long, slightly compressed, the flagellum subclavate, the pedicel longer than the first joint of funicle. Thorax long as in Eupelmus ; wings with the marginal vein as long or nearly as long as the submarginal, the stigmal vein not short, oblique, subclavate, about one-third the length of the marginal, slightly curved, the postmarginal very long, nearly as long as the marginal; legs as in Eupelmus. ; Abdomen long, longer than the head and thorax united, and ending in a prominent ovipositor, depressed above, convex or carinate beneath, the apical margins of the dorsal segments 1-5 incised or emarginate medially. (24) LECANIOBIUS new genus. (Type cockereliiz. ) Head transverse, wider than the thorax, viewed from in front twice as wide as long, the face being very short; frons with a deep A-shaped antennal furrow; eyes rounded, bare; ocelli triangularly arranged; max- illary palpi 4-jointed, the last joint the longest; labial palpi 2-jointed; mandibles indistinctly tridentate; antenne 13-jointed, inserted a little below the middle of the face, widely separated at base, the flagellum sub- clavate, obliquely truncate at tip from beneath. Thorax as in Azastatus, the scutellum with some long black bristles; wings with a fuscous discoidal band or cloud. The marginal vein long, the stigmal vein rather short, ending in a small knob, the postmarginal vein not longer than the stigmal, usually a little shorter; legs as in Eupelmus, except that the hind tibiz are somewhat flattened. Abdomen much shorter than the thorax, as seen from above flat and ovate in outline, although in dried specimens usually appearing spatulate from the retraction of the terminal segments, beneath triangularly cari- nated, the ovipositor not exserted or at the most subexserted; the apical margins of dorsal segments are all apparently straight, not at all emar- ginate or excised. (1) Lecaniobius cockerellii n. sp. Female.—Length 2mm. Head light brown, the vertex usually with metallic reflections and sometimes surrounding the ocelli, more or less zeneous; scape of antenne brownish-yellow, the pedicel and flagellum brown-black. Thorax mostly eneous, strongly iridescent; plate in front of tegule, upper surface of prothorax and coxal cavities light brown; 18 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY scutellum proper, but not axille, red with some black bristles in disk. Legs mostly eneous or fusco-zneous; anterior coxe at base, their tro- chanters and their femora and tibize within, middle coxz beneath, their trochanters and most of the femora and tibiew, except outwardly, light brown, their tarsi whitish; hind legs mostly zneous or fuscous, while the outer surface or ridge of the tibia white. Wings hyaline, with a large brown cloud across the wing below the marginal and stigmal vein; abdomen ezneous, brownish at base beneath, the ovipositor not exserted. Type, No. 3467, U. S. N. M. Hab.—Antigua, British West Indies. Described from 12 female specimens bred by Prof. T. D. A. Cockerell, from Lecantum fraternum Ckll. (25) ARACHNOPHAGA new genus. (Type Eupelmus piceus Riley.) Female.—General facies of Anastatus Motschulsky ( = Antigaster Walsh) but the head is larger, wider than the thorax and antero-posteriorly much thinner, the temples very narrow, flattened; the frons is smooth without antennal furrows, the antenne being inserted just above the clypeus or much below an imaginary line drawn from base of eyes; there is alsoa strong carina extending from base of each eye to each antennal socket, while the malar furrow is wanting or subobsolete, never distinct as it is in Anastatus; maxillary palpi 4-jointed, the last joint as long as the three preceding; labial palpi 3-jointed ; mandibles tridentate ; antennz 13-jointed, the scape long, slender, slightly curved; flagellum subclavate. Thorax as in Hupelmus; wings with a large discoidal blotch, the venation similar to Anastatus ; legs as in Anastatus, except the hind tibiz are somewhat flattened. Abdomen spatulate, shorter than the thorax and with a prominent ovipositor, the first segment the longest and the apical margins of all the dorsal segments except the fifth, which is obtusely triangularly emargi- nated, are straight, not incised or emarginate. (28) TANAOSTIGMODES new genus. (Type T. howardi?.) Female.—Head transverse, as wide as the thorax, the vertex subacute, the temples very narrow, flat, the frons foveated just above the antenne ; eyes oval, bare; ocelli in a straight line; clypeus small, indistinctly separated, with a slight median incision anteriorly; mandibles not large, indistinctly tridentate; maxillary palpi 4-jointed, labial palpi 3-jointed; antenne 13-jointed, inserted below the middle of the face, the scape broadly dilated below, flagellum subclavate, the tip truncate, the joints cylindrical, the funicular joints a little longer than thick. Thorax subovoid, about two and one-half times as long as wide, con- OF WASHINGTON. 19 vex above; pronotum very short, abruptly rounded off anteriorly; meso- notum convex, not longer than wide and only two-thirds the length of the scutellum, the parapsidal furrows delicate but distinct, strongly con- vergent and meeting oralmost meeting at base of scutellum, but anteriorly they take a strong divergent curve off to one side so that the scapulz are rather short and considerably wider at base than long, conforming very nearly in size and shape with the axille; scutellum very large, a little more than one-half longer than the mesonotum, the axille triangular in outline and barely meet at basal angles, their suture v¢s a vés with the parapsidal furrows, scutellum proper fully twice as long as wide at widest part; metathorax very short, the spiracles small, oval; wings ample, the submarginal vein nearly three times as long as the marginal, the costal cell rather broad; stigmal vein a little more than two-thirds the length of the marginal vein, oblique, with a slight curve, ending in a small uncus. Abdomen sessile, oblong-ovate, not longer than the head and thorax, concave above, convex beneath, the basal segment the longest, about twice as long as any of the following which are subequal; the apical mar- gin of all the segments except the first, which has a slight median incision, are straight, not incised; ovipositor not prominent, at the most sub- exerted. This genus is closely allied to Zanxaostigma Howard, but is readily separated by the great difference in shape of the flagellum and by the venation of front wings. The & is unknown but will probably be a form with branched antenne, as has been sug- gested to me by Mr. Howard. (1) Tanaostigmodes howardii n. sp. Female.—Length 2.5 to 3 mm. General color brownish-yellow, the thorax above and the abdomen finely shagreened; eyes and abdomen above, except at margins, brown-black, venter subfuscous; funicle joints 1-5 light brown, funicle joint 6 and the club white; tegule, propleura and tarsi beneath whitish. Types, No. 3468, U. S. N. M. Hab.—San Diego, Los Angeles, Cal., and Arizona. Described from many specimens reared by D. W. Coquillett from a gall on Prosopis. (2) Tanaostigmodes tychii n. sp. Female.—Length 2.5 mm. Black, finely coriaceous; scape, antenna, tips of coxe, trochanters, knees, anterior tibie and tarsi and hind tarsi, and sheaths of the ovipositor brownish-yellow or light brown. Parapsidal furrows posteriorly meeting a little before the base of scutellum. Abdo- men broadly oval, much shorter than thorax; tegule large, brownish- 20 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY yellow; wings hyaline, veins light brown, the stigmal vein a little shorter than the marginal, ending in a distinct uncus.: Hab.—San Bernardino, Cal. Type, No. 3469, U.S. N. M. ~ Described from one female bred by D. W. Coquillett from larva of Zychius semisguamosus Lec. living in the seeds of Lupinus sparstflorts. The following paper was then read by the Secretary : ON THE AFFINITIES OF NEOLARRA. By Cari F. Baxer, Fort Collins, Colo. In Bulletin I of the Colorado Biological Association, Mr. Ashmead erected the genus /Veol/arra on a unique male hymen- opterous insect collected by Mr. Cockerell at West Cliff, Custer Co., Colo., and named the species Aruzzosa. Following the description he says: ‘¢‘ This remarkable insect exhibits strong Larrid atlnities in shape, general appearance, and in the par- tially aborted ocelli, and I was inclined at first to place it in the Larritde, but the distinctly produced labrum, only noticed when describing, induced me to place it finally with the Bembecide ; and it will probably form a distinct tribe in this group, although in its wing characters it is entirely different from any Hymenop- . tera known to me.” Later, Mr. Fox borrowed the unique type and in Entomological News, IV, p. 292, published a figure of the wing and a fuller generic description, rightly calling the type a male instead of a female, as described by Mr. Ashmead. Re- garding its affinities, Mr. Fox says: ‘‘I quite agree with Mr. Ashmead in stating that it will probably form a distinct tribe of the Bembectde (so-called), and go further and believe it to represent a distinct group intermediate between the so-called Bembectde and Larride. As several authors have demon- strated that the Larrzide@e and Bembectde are not entitled to family distinction, representing nothing but groups of the Sphec- tide, the discovery of /Veolarra tends to make the assertion stronger. While its affinities to the Lembectde are shown in the strongly protruding labrum and form of the mandibles, yet its relation to the Larrites is evident in the wings, which are not very dissimilar to the genus Dzzetus.”’ During the past summer I collected specimens (male and fe- male) of this species at Fort Collins, on the flowers of rzogo- num microthecum var. effusum.