318 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Dec., '02 



Ceropales vs. Agentoxenus. 

 BY WILLIAM H. ASHMEAD. 



In the November number of The Entomological NEWS, Mr. 

 H. L. Viereck, in a paper entitled " A New Ceropales," says ; 

 ' ' A specimen of Ceropales macidatus L/atr. , from Hastings, 

 England, runs to Ceropales as given in Mr. Ashmead's table. 

 In Ceropales robinsoni = rufiventris Walsh, the cubitus in hind 

 wings originates behind the transverse median nervure and not 

 before, as in Mr. Ashmead's table ; in other words the type of 

 Agenioxemis Ashmead is congeneric with the type of Ceropales 

 L,atr. , consequently Agenioxenus must be placed as synonymous 

 with Ceropales L,atr." 



What wonderful perspicacity ! Mr. Viereck finds my defini- 

 tion of Ceropales L,atr. correct. But so too, is my definition of 

 Agenioxenus. Mr. Viereck should have taken more time to re- 

 flect and he ought not to have stated so positively that Agen- 

 ioxenus was synonymous with Ceropales ; the characters used 

 to define it very clearly and sharply separate it from Ceropales. 

 He should have at once seen that Agenioxenus was based upon 

 quite a different insect from C. lobinsoni Cresson, which he 

 says equals C. rufiventris Walsh. 



Agenioxenus Ashmead was based upon a specimen of Cero- 

 pales rufiventris Walsh, in the Riley Collection, probably a co- 

 type of Walsh's, and the characters given in my table are 

 correct. 



It is quite evident, therefore, that Ceropales robinsoni Cresson 

 is not the same as C. mfiventris Walsh. Mr. Viereck has been 

 deceived into making them synonymous by a superficial resem- 

 blance in color ; in making Agenioxenus identical with Cero- 

 pales he is totally wrong. 



XYLOCOPA VARIPUNCTA, Patt. Mr. F. M. Irish has collected this fine 

 bee (black in the 9, fulvous in the <^) in great numbers at Temple, Ari- 

 zona, and has kindly given me a pair. The species extends thence to the 

 coast in a southwesterly direction, having been found in Lower California, 

 as reported by Fox, and at San Jose de Guaymas in Mexico, where it 

 was collected April 10, 1898, by Dr. L. O. Howard. T. D. A. COCK- 



EKELL. 



