Two New Chalcidoid Parasites

Extract

The Imperial Bureau of Entomology has recently received from Fiji two examples of a Trichogrammatid bred from eggs of a Hispid, Promecotheca reichei, Baly, that mines in leaves of coconuts, and through the kindness of Dr. G. A. K. Marshall this material has been handed to me for examination. As received, the specimens (mounted in glycerine under the same cover glass) were too shrivelled to be studied satisfactorily. After some colour notes had been made, the wings of each specimen were detached and mounted. The bodies were then thoroughly potashed (10 per cent.) and transferred to glacial acetic in which, owing to their original pallor, they practically disappeared. They were accordingly stained for one minute with carbol fuchsin (Grübler), washed again in acetic acid, and gradually brought up to pure clove oil in which the dissection of one example was completed. Although it is unfortunately still no easy matter to determine the genera of the Trichogrammatidae, I have no hesitation in assigning the insects under discussion to Chaetostricha, Walker, in interpreting which I agree with Dr. Kryger's views in his paper on “ The European Trichogramminae ” (Entomologiske Meddelelser, xii, pp. 303–305, 1918). The ring joint in this genus is solid, but in both examples examined the funicular joint at the extreme base shows a clear, nearly complete, weakly chitinised ring, which must give additional flexibility to the antenna at this point.