Variation in Echthromorpha intricatoria

This species is rather constant in colour and pattern. In the case of the males, a small yellow mark is sometimes present on the posterior coxae and on the scutellum. The punctation of the propodeum appears to vary in intensity, as well as the large but shallow punctures on the abdominal tergites.

Size

A considerable variation in size occurs. The minimum, maximum and average lengths are given in the following table.

The difference in average size of males and females is not so great as in Lissopimpla excelsa. The males show an extremely wide range, more than twice that shown for the females; although odd male specimens may be very large, the majority were on an average smaller than the females.

Seyrig (1932) found that when Echthromorpha hyalina Sauss. and Pimpla maculiscaposa were reared from several different species of Lepidoptera, whose pupae varied in size, females predominated among the parasites emerging from the larger pupae and males among those emerging from smaller pupae. He attributed this difference in sex to the infertility of small females, which did not attract males so readily as did the larger females, and to the small females selecting the small pupae and the large females the larger pupae for oviposition.