PROC. ENT. SOC. WASH., VOL. 70, NO. 4, DECEMBER, 1968 339 SNELLENIUS IN THE NEOTROPICAL REGION ( Hymenoptera : Braconidae: Microgasterini ) R. D. Shenefelt, Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 Snellenius was originally described by Westwood from specimens collected in New Guinea and has since been recorded from Borneo, China and Japan. In 1933 Brues described a species from the Oligocene Baltic amber which he included in the genus but the thoracic struc-ture is such that the insect is probably incorrectly placed. If this fossil is omitted, Snellenius currently includes five species, all of which appear to be uncommon. It was therefore quite suqo rising to find in material from South America several undescribed species which were relatively well represented by specimens. The generic placement of these insects proved to be difficult as the material would not fit into any of the tribes recognized by Telenga in 1955. The antennae and wing venation are definitely microgasterine in character, but the very deep notaulices and other features are aberrant. At the United States National Museum no identified comparable specimens were located, but Dr. Marsh remembered seeing a species of similar insects and kindly arranged to have the 24 specimens involved loaned to me for study. Examination of the Neotropical material has disclosed that the characterization of the genus must be altered somewhat. The features which seem to help follow: Eyes hairy; occiput immargined; antennal segments flattened to nearly terete; antennae 18-segmented; notaulices deeply impressed, crenulate; median lobe of mesoscutum distinctly higher than lateral lobes, with its side margins raised and a low longitudinal carina along the middle; the notaulices separated behind only by a high keel-hke carina; prescutellar fovea broad and deep; scutellum margined along the sides by a distinct rounded carina; antero-laterad of scutellum and laterad of prescutellar fovea a pair of impressed ear-like lobes; band bordering scutellum broadly interrupted on posterior portion; sternauli deep, coarsely crenu-late; prepectal carina either complete and distinct from in front of sternauli across the venter, or incomplete and reduced to a mere ridge across the anterior end of the median sternal groove only; median sternal groove broad, trough-like and crenulated; propodeum with a prominent median carina, the remaining sculpture varying from coarsely foveolate with very high carinae to nearly reticulate-rugose, the dorsal and posterior faces either distinctly separated by an angle or indistinctly limited and the profile appearing rounded. Forewing with tliree cubital cells, the second (areolet) small (but large for Microgasterinae ) and closed by second intercubitus; second intercubitus mostly transparent, joining second abscissa of radius; third abscissa of radius indicated by pigmented hne which may be curved so it appears concave behind; nervulus from nearly interstitial (see West-wood's drawing) to postf ureal to the point where the first abscissa of discoideus is at least two-thirds as long as the second. Cubitellan cell closed; nervellus not
BioStor
