136 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Dianthidium Sayi, n. n. 



This is the Megachile interrupta, Say, 1S24; Anthidmm interriip- 

 tum (Say), Sm., but not A. interruptum, Fabriciiis, of much earlier date.* 

 It has been referred in recent years to A. curvatum. Smith, but that is a 

 species from Georgia, with the legs mainly yellow, whereas in Sayi they 

 are red in both sexes. D. Sayi is not uncommon in Colorado. I have 

 before me specimens from Trinidad, Colo., July 13, 1899 (Titus), and 

 Boulder, the male, Aug. 7, 1906, at flowers of Gritidelia ; the female Aug. 

 8, 1906, at flowers o{ HeliantJms lenticularis (both coll. W. P. Cockerell). 



In my original account of Dianthidium I cited D. curvatum as the 

 type ; ctirvatuni, Auctt. (not Smith) = Sayi, was intended. 



At Mesilla, New Mexico, Aug. 23, I took a female representing a new 

 sub-species, D. Sayi xerophiliim, in which the ferruginous colour has 

 overspread practically all of the head and thorax, except the disc of 

 mesothorax, and the abdomen above is bright yellow with narrow 

 ferruginous bands, the basin of the first segment and most of the apical 

 segment also ferruginous. There is a wedged-shaped black area below 

 each antenna, and laterad of this a yellow suffusion. The legs are 

 entirely red. 



A NOTE ON GENERIC TRANSFERS. 



In the December Canadian Entomologist, p. 415, ^Ir. Pearsall 

 gives convincing reasons why the species of Tallegeda should be referred 

 to Philopsia, but he does not provide the resulting names : Philopsia 

 vwntatiata (Packard) s.nd Philopsia tabulata (Hulst). Similarly in the 

 December Entomological News, p. 370, Stilpon Hougliii is said to belong 

 to Chcrsodromia, but the name Chcrsodromia Houghii (Mel.), is not 

 written. Entomologists are so busy with other matters that it never 

 occurs to them, in the majority of cases, to pay attention to little details 

 of this sort ; yet, when we have adopted more exact bibliographical 

 methods, following the lead uf the ornithologists and botanists, these 

 omissions will be found to occasion a good deal of inconvenience. Thus, 

 the first citation of a particular binomial will often have to be from some 

 iHcidental mention, instead of from the place where the reason for the 

 transfer is given. I cannot doubt that entomologists generally will see the 

 advantage of the precise methods advocated if they consider them a little. 

 Of course, if the number of species involved is large, the transfer of a few 

 of the best known will give the appropriate clue to the user of a bibliography. 



Incidentally, I may suggest that Dr. Williston (Can. Ent., Dec, p. 

 388) should have hesitated to i)riiU the names Stonioxiidte, etc., even as 

 awful examples, remembering Dr. Palmer's solemn treatment of a similar 

 venture of Rafinesque's, in his recent index to tlie Genera of Mammals ! 



l". D. A. (.Cockerell. 



*Nor Megachile interrupta, Spinola, 1806. 



