ART. 2S CHALCID FLIES NOETH OF MEXICO BALDUF 49 The type is selected from a series of nine females and four males

reared

by

the writerin thelaboratory duringthe period of

March

15 to April 15, 1929,

from

the galls of Disholcaspis glohuhis var.

undetermined, collected

from

the stems of,

and from

the

ground

beneath, one specimen of Quercus michattxii at Catlin, 111., on Feb- ruary 24, 1929.

The

galls

and

oak

were

determined

by

Doctor Kinsey.

The

paratypes are in the collections of the United States National

Museum and

the writer,

and

the allotype is deposited with the type.

Remarks. — ^{The United}

^States National

Museum

collectioncontains

two

specimens bearingrecord

number

66"""^

which

issuedon

June

28, 1883,

from

the gallsofD. globulus (Fitch).

The

gallswerecollected

by

A. T.

Packard

at Providence, R. ^I.,

and

were received at

Wash-

ington, D.

C,

on April7, 1863. Ihave one

male from

Doctor

Kinsey

reared

by A.

F. Leach, Diablo, Calif., in 1923,

from

the galls of D. eldoradensis var. on Quercus lohata;

and from

the

same

oak, at Cottonwood,Calif.,

two

females

and

a

male from

undeterminedgalls;

also a female

and two

malesthat I reared

from

the galls of D. glob- ulus (Fitch)

on

Q. albabetween

May

1

and

15, 1923, at Urbana, 111.

Three

females

and

a

male

were obtained

from

the galls of Biorhiza forticornis

(Walsh) by

L.

H. Weld

(No. 36) at Evanston, 111.

Two

males

(Hopk.

U. S. 13685^) were reared

by William

Middleton at Falls Church,Va.,April 5

and

12,1918,

from

thegallsof D.globulus

on

Q. ^alba.

The same

lot of galls contained D. varians

Walsh,

D. dubia

Walsh, and D.

dAibia var. rufosa Balduf.

The

following are additional

Hopkins

lots:

A

female

and

3 males

(Hopk. U.

S.15637^), reared October2,1922,

by

^L.

H. Weld,

Tijeras, N. Mex.,

from

galls of Disholcaspis sp. undescribed, on Q. pungens;

2 females

(Hopk. U.

S. 15637^),

same

locality

and

oak,

by Weld, from

gall of Andricus tecturnarum Kinsej'^; a male

(Hopk.

U. S.

15637^), reared

June

1, 1922,

Las

Vegas, N. Mex.,

from

galls of CalUrhytis ruglnosu^ (Bassett) collected

on

various oaks; a female

and

3 males

(Hopk. U.

S. 13686«), reared

by

L.

H. Weld,

April 5, 1918,

from

gallsof Disholcaspis spongiosa Karsch, onQ.stellata atone or

more

of the following localities: Thebes, Liberty County, Ga., or Palestine,Trinity,orHouston, Tex.; 1 female

(Hopk.

U. S. 10777"), reared

by

S.

A. Rohwer, May

14,1919, PoplarBluff, Ariz.,

from

galls on Q. ^stellata;

and

a pair

(Hopk. U.

S. 10777''),

same

^collector,

locality,

and

oak,

May

¹⁴

^and

^{21, 1919,} with no cynipid ^record.

There

is also a lot of 2 females

and

9 males

(Hopk. U.

S. 1365»), reared

by

F. R. Herbert,

February

26,

and

April 5

and

24, 1918, at

Los

Gatos, Calif.,

from

gallsof Disholcaspis sp. on Q. chrysolepis.

I sometimes have difficulty in distinguishing between this species

and

dubla

Walsh. D.

globuli

Balduf may

represent the smaller, 67088—32 4

50 PROCEEDINGS

OF

THE

NATIONAL,

MUSEUM

^vol.79

darker extreme of dubia.

The

latter varies

somewhat

in length,

and

even in the relative width

and

length of the head, the

more

robust heads

merging

with the typical globuii

head

in dimensions.

In

most

instances, however, the head proportions,

body

length,

and number

of setae

on

the submarginal vein readily distinguish

them and seem

to justify their separation as

two

species.

On

the other hand, small specimens of globuii grade into the larger Z>. nigriceps

Walsh

in

form

of the head, size of body,

and

coloration.

The

subglobose

head and

small sizeof the

more

extremenigriceps require that they be treated as distinct

from

glohuli.

Here

there seems to occur a series of species

merging

into one another, without well- defined specific limiting characters

by which

the border line indi- viduals

may

be distinguished. All of

them have

at least certain species of Disholcaspis as

common

hosts.

18.

DECATOMA

NOVASCOTIAE, new species

Plate 2, Figure 17

Similar to dubia

Walsh

in being mostly black,

and

in

having

a narrow, curved

wing

band, but is easily distinguished

by

^{its smaller}

size, the lower numerical range of setae

on

the submarginal vein,

and

in the distinctly

narrower and

longer,

more

blocky head.

The head

of this species differs

from

that of

most

others of similar dimensions in being almost equally long throughout its width.

Female.

— Length

2.6 to 3

mm.,

mostly black with

some

yellow, brownish yellow,

and brown

;

head

color quite variable,

from

mostly black to mostly rich yellow, inone extreme only area

around mouth-

parts

and

circumocular band, latter

expanding caudad on

temples, yellow; in other extreme black

on

vertex continuing broadly over occiput to neck, this briefly interrupted

on

occiput,

and

circum- ocular

band

ofyellow always present with varying

width on

vertex

;

face

may

be black to antennal fossae,

and

ocular

band

of yellow

on

temples very variable in width, reaching occiput in a slender neck- like band, or broadly, or

expanding

slightly

and

not reaching occi- put; antennal scrobe yellow, scape mostly yellow, outwardly brown, pedicel light brown, yellow at apex, flagellum almost uniformly reddish

brown

or light

brown; pronotum

black above, occasionally

an

oblique longitudinal fine stripe of yellow in middle of each half, sides yellow full length but

more

broadly in front

and

extending

mesad

along

upper

anterior edge, but not reaching middle; meso-

notum

black, only scapulae sometimes feebly in front

and

behind,

and

axillae

on

side in front,

somewhat

yellow, mesopleura yellowish

brown

except

upper

portion of caudal half,

which

is black, meta- thorax

and propodenm

black; coxae

lemon

yellow to dull yellow, except front coxa,

which

is faintly fuscous outwardly,

and

outer

ART. 28

CHALCID

FLIES

NORTH OF MEXICO — ^BALDUF 51

half

and

basal parts of front

and

inner surfaces,

which

are black, trochanters yellow, fore

femora

mostly fuscous outwardly,

mid femora

including

upper and

lower faces same, hind

femora

also fuscous with only outer face mostly yellowish, tibiae mostly brown, front pair only outwardly, middle pair entirely except inwardly,

and

hind pair completely, only bases

and

apices narrowly not so, tarsi stramineous-yellow, apex a bit darker; submarginal

band

brown, about twice as long as broad, reaching two-thirds across wing, broadest at middle, barely narrower here than length of stigma, tapering

and

fading irregularly

toward

its apex, proximal

margin

broadly

rounded

but not quite regular, distal

margin

ex-

panding

broadly at middle butnot extending quite so far as

end

of stigmal vein, secondary

band

very faint; petiole black,

abdomen

black or dark brown, except anterior-ventral aspect,

which

is in small part yellowish brown.

Body

fairly robust;

head

three-fifths as long as broad almost its entire width, face not prominently convex, temples convex, occiput moderately concave

from

above; vertex

and

occiput moderately to sparsely umbilicate punctate, punctures small

and

shallow, intervals betweenumbilicate puncturesfinely

and

densely punctate,genae

more

coarsely

and

sparingly pitted, posterior orbits

and

malar spaces in part finely wrinkled, latter largely smooth, polished; face reticulate punctate;

head

rather sparsely hairy, antennae

more

densely so, scape slightly longer than pedicel

and Fl

combined, pedicel about a fifth longer than Fl, latter one-fourth longer than F2, each of following funicular joints barely shorter

and

thicker than the pre- ceding,

F2

a fourth longer than broad,

and Fo

almost as broad as long, club

compact and

^{tapering to} blunt tip,

and

as long as F5,F4,

and

half of

F3

combined; head one-sixth broader than

pronotum and

slightly broaderthan mesothorax; nota of thorax quite coarsely umbilicately punctate, sides of

pronotum

longitudinally strigose, mesopleura moderately concave, aciculate

and

finely punctate on anterior sclerite, posterior half feebly convex, finely

and more

densely aciculate, the fine punctures not readily visible; propodeal groove crossed

by

a V-shaped carina, its apex broadly rounded, groove mostly polished but feebly rugose on

more

than posterior half, remainder of the segment rather coarsely reticulate; submar- ginal vein with 13 to 15,

more

often the latter, setae, hairs on apical

margin

offront

wing

^{slightly longer}than

normal

; firstthree

abdom-

inal segments highly polished, fourthsemiopaque, very ^finely granu-

lose, posterior face of

abdomen

moderately punctate

and

hairy, hairs coarse.

Male.

—

^Length 2.6 to 3

mm.,

colors, vestiture,

and

dimensions as described for female; scape of antennae ^slightly stouter than in the

52 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM

^vol.79

female, its length equal to length of pedicel, Fl,

and

base of

F2

combined,pedicel

and Fl

equal inlength,latterone-sixthlongerthan F2,

F2

to

F4 uniform

in length

and

diameter, each one-fourth longer thanits

maximum

diameter, club compact,threetimes aslong as its greatest thickness, as long as F4, F3,

and

a fourth of

F2

combined.

Type

locality.

—

^Lequille,

^Nova

^{Scotia, Canada.}

Type.

—

^Female,

^Canadian

^National

^Museum

^{No. 3102.}

Paratypes.

— ^{Female and}

^male,

^U.S.N.M.

No. 42238.

The

type, the allotype,

and

1 female

and

2

male

paratypes

were

reared

by

Prof. G. E.

Saunders from

the galls of Neuroterus hatatus (Fitch)

on

April 2, 1911,

from

the type locality; 1 female

and

3

male

paratypes

from

the

same

host

by H.

S. Payne,

Bear

River, April 3, 1911;

and

1 of each sex issued April 12, 1911, at

Round

Hill, G. E. Saunders collector, without host data, but prob- ablybelonging to the

same

lot as the above.

The

type

and

allotype are in the

Canadian

collection,

and

the paratypes are divided

among

the collections of that institution, the

United

States National

Museum, and

the writer.

Remarks. —

^{Later I find in the National}

^Museum

^{17 females}

and

11 males that are probably this species.

The

range in length

and

color is greater in this lot than in the smaller type ^series.

The

average color pattern agrees quite closely with that of the types^

and

the size varies

from

2.6 to 4.3

mm.,

or

an

average of 3.5

mm.

The number

of setae

on

the submarginal vein is

from

13

on

the smaller

and more

yellow individuals to 17

on

the larger

and

darker specimens.

The

best evidence, however, that they are novascotiae

is the

form

of the head.

A

^{series of}

measurements shows

it to be three-fifths as long as broad,

and

about equally long over its entire width, quite blocky in form,

which

is a rather distinct feature in this species.

The

submarginal

band

is broad

on

the basal half

and

tapers usually to a sharp tip,

and

at the

same

time bends

toward

the base of the

wing

as in

some

other species.

The

present series (Quaintance No. 1730)

was

reared

by

R. A.

Cushman

between

May

12

and June

1, 1911, at Vienna, Va.,

from

the galls of GallirKytis cornigera (Osten Sacken).

Kinsey

^* states that these occur

on

black oaksin the Eastern

United

States.

19.

DECATOMA

FLAVIPES. new species

Resembles D. flamminneiventris Girault in size, dimensions,

and form

of the head,numerical range of hairs on the submarginal vein, unsculptured

abdomen,

in having the sides of the

body

yellow,

and

8IndianaUniv. Studies No. 53. vol. 9, p. 105.1922.