234 HYMENOPTEKA. 



the right wing do not touch at all. In some typical specimens the recurrent nervures 

 approach each other nearer than they do in others. 



In the two specimens mentioned above the head is without punctures ; the meso- 

 notum is strongly and coarsely punctured all over ; and the scutellum is hardly, the 

 median segment very finely, punctured. The basal abdominal segment has a broad 

 yellow band on the apex, with a black mark in the middle ; the second segment 

 has an irregular yellow mark in its apex ; the third segment has a straight yellow 

 uninterrupted band ; and the two apical segments are densely covered with reddish- 

 fulvous hair. The tibiae and tarsi are reddish. The wings are yellowish-hyaline, with 

 a yellowish -fuscous cloud along the fore margin. 



Similar instances of difference in the alar neuration have been recorded (cf. Saussure 

 and Sichel, Cat. Sp. Gen. Scolia, p. 282), and they seem to lead to the conclusion that 

 too much reliance cannot be placed on the form of the discoidal cellule, or even the 

 cubital cellule, as an aid in generic differentiation. 



In E. trifasciata I find great variation in the sculpture of the mesonotum ; the depth 

 and strength of the puncturing depends on the freshness of the specimens — on the 

 amount of digging in the sand which the individuals have done. 



13. Elis tricincta. 



Tiphia tricincta, Fabr. Syst. Ent. p. 354 l ; Ent. Syst. ii. p. 227 2 ; Syst. Piez. p. 235 \ 

 Scolia tricincta, Burm. Abh. Nat. ges. Halle, i. 4, p. 30 4 . 



Elis tricincta, Sauss. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1858, p. 246 s ; Sanss. & Sichel, Cat. Sp. Gen. Scolia, 

 p. 248 6 . 

 Rob. Mexico 6 , Omilteme 8000 feet, Acapulco, Amula 6000 feet, Dos Arroyos 1000 

 feet, all in Guerrero (H. II. Smith), Atoyac in Vera Cruz (Schumann), Orizaba (F. D. G. 

 & H. H. Smith), Omealca near Orizaba (M. Trujillo), North Yucatan (Gaumer) ; 

 Guatemala, Zapote, San Geronimo (Champion) ; Nicakagua, Chontales (Janson) ; Costa 

 Rica, Cache (Rogers).— Antilles 4 5 , Cuba 6 , Haiti 6 , St. Thomas 6 . 



The yellow abdominal marks vary in shape : in some examples they are entire, more 

 or less incised in the middle ; in others they are divided into two. In one example 

 (from Orizaba) there is an interrupted line on the fourth segment, the second and third 

 ventral segments having also two yellow lines. The wings also vary in colour ; usually 

 they are hyaline or subhyaline, with the apex more or less infuscated, but some examples 

 have them uniformly fusco-violaceous. In most of the examples I have seen the femora 

 are black, and the tibiae and tarsi rufous. 



14. Elis limosa. 



Scolia limosa, Burm. Abh. Nat. ges. Halle, i. 4, p. 28 \ 



Elis limosa, Sauss. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. 1858, p. 246 2 ; Sauss. & Sichel, Cat. Sp. Gen. Scolia, p. 230 3 . 



Hob. Mexico 123 . 



