Article beginning on page 377.
Psyche 6:377-378, 1891.
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ON THE SPECIES OF THE GENUS MIRAX FOUND IN NORTH AMERICA.
BY WM. H. ASHMEAD,
No species in the genus Mirax is
yet described from the United States,
although in Insect Life, v. 3, p. 15,
I have indicated three species in Ms.
reared by Dr. Riley at the Department
of Agriculture.
In Europe, only a single species ap-
pears to be known, viz., Mirax sfirtii
Haliday, the type of the genus, para-
sitic on Nefticula septembrella Stain-
ton, a Tineid found mining the leaves
of St. John's Wort, Hy-pericum$erfol-
iatum.
The habits of our species conform to
the European species, in that they are
parasitic on the Tineina.
Species black, base of abdomen pale.
Scutellum polished.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
"Maxillary palpi 4-, labial 3-jointed.
Antennae 14-jointed. Eyes somewhat
villose. Abdomen showing 7 segments
above, 6 beneath, smooth, shining.
Radius of the fore wing hardly in-
choate, springing from the same point
in the stigma as the 1st intercubital;
two cubital areolets, the 2nd imperfectly separated from the radial. Terebra sub-
exserted."-Marshall.
Our species may be synoptically rep-
resented as follows :-
Three basal abdominal segments pale; second flagellar joint about as long as the first.
Stigma brownish-yellow ; legs yellowish sometimes tinged with fuscous, the articulations pale ; first submarginal and first discoidal cells confluent. . . M. as$idiscae.
Stigma fuscous ; legs brownish-yellow, the tarsi fuscous ; first submarginal and first discoidal cells distinctly separated. M. minuta.
Scutellum finely punctate.
Stigma pale brownish ; hind tarsi fuscous ; first submarginal and first discoidal cells not entirely separated.
Antennae longer than body, the 7 terminal joints 2+ times as long as thick. . . M. lithocolletidis.
Antennae longer than body, the joints after the 3rd 4 times as long as thick ;all femora and the hind tibiae and tarsi tinged with fuscous. . . M. grafholithae.
Wholly brownish-yellow, all tarsi fuscous. . . M. jallida.
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378 ~ C i Y E . [January 1893-
I. M. as'pidiscae sp. n. $ $ .-Length I .3 -
to 1.5 mm.
Black, shining, but microscopi-
cally punctulate, pubescent ; two basal joints of antennae and sometimes base of the third and legs brownish-yellow; sometimes more or less of the femora, especially toward base, posterior tibiae and tarsi fuscous or dusky in female; abdomen, in female with three basal segments pale, in male with only two, oval, black or brown-black. Antennae 14-jointed, as long as the body, the flagellar joints very gradually subequal after the second, the first and second the longest, about equal. Thorax without furrows, the scutellum polished, the metanotum with a median carina. Wings
hyaline, the stigma and nervures pale brown- ish yellow, the first submarginal and first discoidal cells confluent.
Hab.-United States.
Types in National museum and Coll.
Ashmead.
This species seems to be a common
parasite on Aspidisca s$?er~dorz~ereZla
Clem., a small case- bearing
Tineid on
apple.
Those in the National museum
were reared in 1879, and the same is
figured in Prof. Comstock's Report for
the same year, pi. 2, fig.
specimens were reared from
in 1888.
2, h. My
this Tineid
2. M. minuta sp. n. ?.-Length I mm.
Black, shining, faintly pubescent ; flagellum brown-black, slightly incrassated toward the tip, the 7 terminal joints short, scarcely twice as long as thick; scape, pedicel, three basal abdominal segments an,d the legs, including all the coxae, yellow; tarsi fuscous.
Wings hyaline, the stigma fuscous, other- wise the venation pale yellow ; the first sub- marginal and first discoidal cells distinctly separated.
Hab.-Jacksonville, Florida.
Types in Coll. Ashmead.
Comes closest to M. as$z'a?iscae, but
its smaller size and the distinctly sepa- rated first submarginal and first dis-
coidal cells readily distinguish the
species.
3. M. lithocoZZetidia sp. n.
$ 52 .-Length
1.5 to 1.6 mm.
The head and thorax feebly
rugose or punctulate, subopaque. Antennae filiform, 14-jointed, longer than the body, pubescent; scape beneath and pedicel at apex and beneath, yellowish; flagellum black or brown black, the joints to the last subequal, the last longer than the preceding; metano- turn with a grooved line at the middle; face, basal half of abdomen and legs yellow or brownish yellow ; hind tarsi fuscous.
Wings
hyaline, the costa and stigma fuscous, the other nervures yellowish ; the first submar- ginal and the first discoidal cells not entirely separated. The first and second abdominal segments have a central longitudinal carina or fold.
In the male, the
head, thorax and apical
half of abdomen are fuscous, while the orbits (broadly), lower part of cheeks,
the face,
basal half of abdomen, and the legs are
yellow.
Hab.-Washington, D. C. and Jack
sonville, Florida.
Types in National museum and Coll.
Ashmead.
The single specimen in the National
museum was reared from a Leaf-miner
on locust, Lithocolletis ornutella
Chambers,
4. M. gra'pftolithae sp. n. 3. -Length
1.5 mm. Head and thorax black, shining,
although finely punctate and sparsely seri- ceous. Abdomen brownish-piceous, blackish towards apex, pale yellowish towards base; legs palebrown, the femora towards base and hind tibiae and tarsi, dusky or fuscous.
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Head transverse, very little broader than the thorax, the occiput emarginate at middle, the cheeks margined ; face below the antennae, prominently convex, shining, with sparse whitish hairs; clypeus separated, subconvex; mandibles piceous ; palpi brown, the maxil- hies very long. Antennae 14-jointed, longer than the body, setaceous, brown, the scape and pedicel yellowish ; scape not quite twice as long as the pedicel; flagellum slender, cylin- drical, the joints very slightly subequal, after the 3rd about 4 times as long as thick. Meta- notum with a median sulcus bounded by
carinae. Wings hyaline, the stigma and
nervures pale brown.
Type in National museum.
The single 8 specimen was reared
May 3, 1881, from Grafholitha $run;-
vora Walsh.
5. M. $allida sp. n. 2 .-Length 2 mm.
Brownish-yellow, minutely closely punctu- late. Antennae I~-jointed, fuscous toward tips, flagellar joints I and 2 about equal, as long as the two lastjoints united, joints 3 and 4 about the length of the 2nd, those beyond gradually become shorter, subequal. Eyes brown, subpubescent. Mesopleurae smooth. Metanotum with a distinct median carina. Wings hyaline; the stigma and nervures
brownish yellow. Abdomen oval, as long as the thorax, the first segment with a narrow linear shield, the membranaceous margins broad; ovipositor as long as the basal tarsal joint in hind legs. All tarsi more or less fuscous.
Hab .- Jacksonville, Florida.
Type in Coll. Ashmead.
The large size and pale color readily
distinguish the species. .
NOTES ON THE LARVAL STAGES OF ARCTIA BLAKE1 GROTE. BY HARRISON G. DYAR, BOSTON. MASS.
EUPREPIA (CYMBALOPHORA) BLAKEI Grote.
1863--Grote, Proc. ent. soc. Phil., iii, 523. Arctia.
1874-Stretch, Zyg. Bomb. N. A., 224.
1892-Kirby, Cat. Lep. Het., i, 267. Afan- test's.
seerba Stretch.
1874-Stretch, Zyg. Bomb. N. A., 227.
genewa Strecker.
1878-Strecker, Proc. Dav. acad. sci., ii, 270.
1884-French, Papilio, iv, 158.
188g-French, Can. ent., xxi, 162.
incomzq5fa Hy. Edwards.
1881-Hy. Edw., Papilio, i, 38.
shastaensis Behrens.
1889-French, Can. ent., pp. 35 and 162.
var. NEVADENSIS Grote and Robinson.
1866-Grt. and Robs., Proc. ent. soc. Phil., vi, i. Arctia.
1886-Grote, Can. ent., xviii, 109.
1892-Kirby, Cat. lep. Het., i, 268.
A'pan-
test's.
behrit' Stretch.
1872-Stretch, Zyg. Bomb., N. A,, 75.
var. SULPHURICA Neumoegen.
1885-Neum., Ent. amer., i, 93.
elongata Stretch.
1885-Stretch, Ent. Amer., i, 105.
1892-Kirby, Cat. lep. Het. i, 270.
ockracea 11 Neum.
1883-Neum., Papilio, iii, 151.
In Kirby's catalogue the American species, formerly referred to Arctia, are distributed irregularly under three generic names. As the species do not seem to be separable gen- erically, I adopt the oldest name for the genus, viz. Euprepia Ochs. (I~IO), under which name are found 23. 'pudica Esp. and E. fisciata Esp. Arctia Schrank is restricted
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