transversely striated. Mesonotum closely, rugosely punctured. Scutellums smooth. Metanotum closely reticulated; the base on either side smooth; the areola not clearly defined, open behind; the reticulations on the apical slope stronger than elsewhere; the spines are long, stout-about three times longer than wide. Areolet narrow, about twice longer than wide. LARPELITES, Cam. LARPELITES RUFICOLLIS, Cam. Records Alb. Mus., i., 145. This species is in the collection from Estcourt, Natal (E. Haviland). Cryptus celer, Tosq., from Senegal (Mem. Soc. Ent. Belg., v., 161), is clearly another species of the genus. It is to be noted of L. ruficollis that the propleural keel curls round inwardly at the top. STENOMERIS, gen. nov. Wings uniformly fuscous violaceous; the areolet small, square; disco-cubital nervure not broken; transverse median nervure interstitial; the transverse median nervure in hind wings broken shortly below the middle. Median segment closely, rugosely punctured, without keels; the spiracles long. Abdominal petiole slender, long, not distinctly dilated at the apex; the post-petiole not separated. Temples wide, roundly, obliquely narrowed. Clypeus roundly convex, clearly separated by a deep depression from the face; its apex dilated in the middle, separated from the side, but not projecting downwards. Labrum hidden. Mandibles with two large teeth. Parapsidal furrows indistinct, narrow, shallow. Scutellum not raised above the level of the mesonotum; its basal depression large, deep. It is doubtful if this genus should be placed in the Cryptini or Mesostenini; the form of the areolet does not give always a trustworthy distinction between the two. In the present species the areolet, although small, is closed at the apex; the general appearance of the insect, too, is more like the Cryptini. The type of the genus is Cryptus xanthopus, Bé., Hymén., iv., 194; Tosquinet, Mém. Soc. Ent. Belg., v., 130, which is in the collection from Stellenbosch, December. HEMITELINI. XENOLYTUS, Först. XENOLYTUS RUFIPES, sp. nov. Black, the legs and abdomen from the base of the second segment red; the antennal scape testaceous below, the flagellum fuscous; wings hyaline, the nervures and stigma black; the tegula whitish testaceous. f. Length 5 mm. ; terebra 1 mm. Cape Colony. Stellenbosch. Face closely punctured; the clypeus smooth and shining. Mandibles and palpi rufous. Front and vertex smooth, the former thickly covered with white pubescence. Antennæ 19-jointed, stout, the third joint slightly longer than the fourth. Thorax smooth and shining; the metanotum largely, obliquely depressed at the base; the areola large, the base not clearly closed; the middle widened, 4-angled, the apex transverse; the base slightly, obliquely narrowed; the apical slope depressed in the centre, the sides obliquely sloped; the sides, at the top of the apical slope, toothed. Abdomen smooth and shining. Transverse median nervure in hind wings received distinctly beyond the transverse basal. Stigma large. The petiolar area large, almost square; the median segment regularly areolated; the lateral apical area is somewhat strongly transversely striated. LIENELLA, Cam. This genus of Hemitelini was described by me in the Transactions of the South African Phil. Soc., xv., 196, 1905. In the collection of the Cape Museum are some specimens which throw some light on the genus, but not enough to properly elucidate the generic distinctions. There seems to be two groups: one, represented by L. nigriceps, with a long, narrow abdominal petiole and sharply defined metanotal keels and areæ, of which I have only males, and, unfortunately, all of them have the apical joints of the antennæ broken off. Of this group I have to describe another new species, which differs considerably in the structure of the area on the median segment. LIENELLA CANALICULATA, sp. nov. Black; the pronotum, mesonotum with scutellum, and pro- and mesopleuræ, red; the sides of the second and third abdominal segments, the apex of the second broadly and of the third narrowly, testaceous; legs black; the anterior tibiæ and tarsi obscure testaceous; the hind tibiæ with a white band at the base, the white colour obscured with testaceous. Wings fuscous-violaceous, a clear hyaline cloud on the basal fourth of the anterior and on the basal half of the posterior, a squarish cloud at the stigma and a more obscure hyaline cloud on the apex. Face and clypeus opaque, coarsely alutaceous, covered with short white pubescence; the front and vertex more coarsely alutaceous, obscurely transversely striated. Middle of mandibles with a red band. Abdominal petiole long and narrow, as long as the second and half of the third segment united; the spiracles prominent, smooth, the apex of post-petiole aciculatedstriated, bordered by fine keels; the second and third segments closely longitudinally striated-aciculated. Median segment deeply depressed at the base; there are three rows of area of five each; the areola large, wider than long, its base bluntly rounded, the apex transverse. 3. Length 5 mm. Cape Colony. Port St. Johns. This species differs essentially from L. nigriceps, Cam., the type of the genus, in the form of the areola; but this may not, in this group of the Hemitelini (readily distinguished by the absence of an areolet in the fore wings), be of generic importance. The two species are readily separated. .... Areola clearly longer than broad, extending to the posterior nigriceps. canaliculata. As regards the other group, I give a generic description of it, based on females, the only sex known to me. Of the other section I only know males. Antennæ 28-jointed. Metanotum with a distinct petiolar area, an areola longer than wide, obliquely narrowed at the base, transverse at the apex; and a large posterior median area, the keels of which curve round the sides; the lateral areæ are indistinctly defined; the base of the segment is obliquely depressed in the middle. Abdominal petiole long, longer than the second segment; it and the other segments are closely strongly striated; the second segment has a wide, curved transverse furrow near the middle; there are eight segments; the second and third are contracted laterally at the apex; the ovipositor is as long as the apical four segments united. Parapsidal and sternal furrows distinct. Clypeus not separated from the face. Mandibles bidentate, the teeth almost equal in length. Wings without an areolet; the recurrent nervure is received beyond the transverse cubital; transverse basal nervure interstitial. Radial cellule wide at the transverse cubital nervure; it is short compared with its width; the basal abscissæ straight, oblique. The apical nervures in the hind wings are faint; the transverse median nervure is broken shortly below the middle. As with most Hemitelini, the wings are spotted; the first and second joints of the flagellum are equal in length; the ocelli are widely separated from the eyes; the hinder from each other by about the same distance as they are from the eyes. The temples are half the length of the top of the eyes; the occiput is roundly incised. The other three species known to me may be separated by the following table : a. Basal segment of the abdomen red; areola broad at the base: The stigmal cloud in fore wings of equal width through- The stigmal cloud not of equal width, not extending uninterruptedly to the discoidal nervure; base of costa broadly white, middle lobe of mesonotum not furrowed down the middle b. Basal segment of abdomen black, areola narrowed to a point at the base .. ........ quadriannulata. ruficornis. .. latifasciata. LIENELLA QUADRIANNULATA, sp. nov. Head and abdomen black; the thorax and basal segment of the abdomen red; the apical four segments of the abdomen lined with white at the apex; the four front legs fuscous-testaceous, the hinder black, the coxæ broadly black at the base above, the base of the tibiæ with a white ring. Wings hyaline; the stigma and nervures are black, the former narrowly white at the base; a broad fuscous violaceous cloud extends from near the base of the stigma to its apex, then to the discoidal nervure, it extending slightly beyond the transverse cubital nervure and the recurrent; there is a small cloud on either side of the transverse median nervure and a wider cloud beyond it. f. Length 7 mm. Antennæ 28-jointed, the middle joints fuscous. Head densely covered with white pubescence, finely rugosely punctured, the front furrowed down the middle; the antennal tubercles, apex of clypeus and mandibles, except the teeth, red; the palpi testaceous, covered with white pubescence. Face raised in the middle, the raised part narrowed above. Thorax closely, rugosely punctured, thickly covered with white pubescence. Petiolar area large, narrowed towards the apex, where it is one-third of the width of the base; the areola large, longer than wide, obliquely narrowed towards the base, which is not quite half the width of the apex; the keel on the latter is indistinct. The hair on the apical slope of the median segment is longer than it is on the rest of the thorax. Petiole longer than the second segment; the post-petiole closely striated; the middle of the second segment is tinged with rufous. Tarsi shortly spinose; the calcaria pale, the long spur of the hinder one-third of the length of the metatarsus. LIENELLA RUFICORNIS, sp. nov. Black, the thorax, post-petiole, and antennæ red, as are also the antennal tubercles, apex of clypeus and mandibles; legs of a darker red, the hind tibiæ and tarsi black, the former with a broad white band at the base; wings hyaline, the nervures and stigma black; the tegulæ, base of costa and of stigma black; the cloud is brown, commences near the middle of the stigma and extends to its apex ; it is rounded behind and reaches close to the middle of the recurrent nervure, there being another, fainter, smaller cloud beyond it; there is a smaller cloud behind the transverse median and the lower half of the transverse basal, it being narrowed to a point along the latter. The post-petiole, the second and the third segment, except at the apex, are closely, strongly longitudinally striated; the others smooth. and shining; the post-petiole is broad at the apex, becoming gradually narrowed towards the base; there is no depression on the second segment; the fifth segment has a narrow, distinct band on the apex. f. Length 6 mm.; terebra 1.5 mm. Cape Colony. Thickly covered with a white pubescence. The first joint of flagellum slightly, but distinctly, shorter than the second; the apical joints are unfortunately broken off. Head and thorax closely rugosely, finely punctured; the metanotum more coarsely than the rest. Areola longer than wide; it is broken by the lateral keel shortly beyond the middle, slightly narrowed towards the base, the apex closed, transverse; petiolar area distinct; there are eleven areæ, including the spiracular. This species comes close to 4-annulata; it differs essentially in its broader, triangular post-petiole, much longer ovipositor, and shorter, broader, more ovate abdomen. |