Ripiphorus solidaginis (Pierce 1902)

Rhipiphorus solidaginis (Pierce)
1902. Myodites solidaginis Pierce, Can. Ent., xxxiv, p. 293.
1904. Myodites solidaginis Pierce, Stud. Univ. Nebr., p. 183.
1905. Myodites solidaginis Silvestri, Redia, III, p. 323.
1920. Myodites solidaginis Pierce, Ent. News, xxxi, pp. 278 and 280.
Male black, antennae, elytra and legs yellow; tips of antennae and joints between tibia and femora fuscous. Female — head and thorax black, thorax, often black-brown, abdomen reddish yellow; spots on tergites and pygidium brown, often red brown; femora and tibia brown, although the latter may be variegated with yellow, tarsi yellow brown, antennae brownish, first process yellowish. Vertex broadly rounded, finely punctate, pubescent, frons coarsely punctate and slightly concave between the eyes, clypeus finely punctate. Antennae 10-segmented, processes subequal. Pronotum broadly rounded and slightly truncate at base, coarsely and densely punctate and pubescent. Median carina at basal half and two smooth glabrous areas on either side. Distance between the two posterior areas equal to about half that between the anterior ones. Elytra irregularly punctate; scutellum punctate, divided by a median carina. Abdomen finely and sparsely punctate, second and third tergites smooth and glabrous. Pygidium of female and also the seventh tergite of male densely and coarsely punctate with two glabrous areas on both sides of center. First segment of hind tarsus elevated obliquely, truncate and emarginate at tip, as long as last segment.
Length, 9 to 10 mm.
Holotype. — Male; Lincoln, Nebraska, July 29. [U. S. National Museum, No. 8254].
Allotype. — Female; Lincoln, Nebraska, July 29. [U. S. National Museum.]
Distribution. — Pierce records this species from: Nebraska: — Pine Ridge, July; Lincoln, July 29, August 30; West Point, Aug. 3. The Holotype, Allotype and several paratypes upon which these records are based are in the collection of the U. S. National Museum; paratypes are also in the Casey Collection and in the Collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. In addition to these, specimens were examined as follows:
Nebraska: "Neb.," [Schaeffer Colin.], [Leng Colin.], [Palm Colin.], [A. M. N. HJ. Lincoln (Salt Basin),, Aug. 22, (Shoemaker),
The only localities this species has been taken in, are Salt Basin in Nebraska or similar topographic places. The restriction of this species to this locality is due to the fact that its host, Epinomia triangulifera Vachel, is very abundant in those localities. Pierce explains also that the abundance of the species may be due to the fact that the host makes its nest in the neighborhood
of the plant upon which the triunguloid larvae feed in their earlier stages.