THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 215 



NOTES ON FIVE SPECIES OF MEGACHILE. 



BV T. D. A. COCKERELL, EAST LAS VEGAS, N. I\I. 



I have spent more time timn I like to think about identifying bees of 

 the genus Megachile, so I have no apology to make for offering some 

 notes which will, I hope, make the process easier for others : 



MegacJiilc frugalis, Cresson. — This species was described from the 

 male. I have before me a female collected by Dr. Davidson at Lancaster, 

 California. It practically agrees with the description of M. zaptlana, 

 Cresson, V > except that it has no lines of white pubescence on the thorax. 

 M. occidetita/is, Fox, 9 > is very similar, and has the lines of white 

 pubescence, but it has a different clypeal margin, and the very scanty 

 hair on the disc of the clypeus is white. In M. frugalls, ^ , the clypeus 

 has long black hair ; the ventral scopa is creamy white, black on the last 

 segment. These bees are all of the elongate narrow type. The anterior 

 margin of the clypeus mfnigalis, $, can hardly be called excavated, but 

 presents three gently-rounded prominences, the margin between them 

 being slightly concave. 



Megachile ino?itivaga, Cresson. — At flowers of Touret'ea decapetala 

 (Sims), Raton, N. M., Aug. 27, one 9 (W. P. Cockerell). Length nearly 

 14 millim. An Illinois sample is smaller (about 12^ millim.), and has 

 the thorax more densely punctured. The species resembles M. relativa, 

 Cr., but is larger and less shining, and the abdominal bai.ds are pure 

 white. A variety of M. montivaga, with more conspicuous black hair on 

 the dark parts of the abdomen, was taken by Prof. Townsend at flowers 

 of Potejitilla Thurberi, on the Rio Ruidoso, N. M., about 6,500 ft., Aug. i. 

 Megachile hiimica, Cresson. — Las Vegas, N. M., one male at flowers 

 of Verbena Macdougali, Aug. 9 (W. Porter). This is Sayi, Cresson, 

 said by Robertson to be a synonym of inunica. In our specimen the 

 tegulfe are very dark brown. The insect has a long, nari;ow abdomen, and 

 looks superficially like M. occidentalis, Fox. Upon closer study it is seen 

 to be really nearer to M. pngnata, Say, from which it is easily distin- 

 guished by the hollow process on first tarsal joint being fringed along its 

 whole length with dark fuscous hair ; in pugnata the basal two-fifths is 

 densely fringed with black hair, and the portion beyond has a short fuscous 

 comb. 



Megachile pruina, Smith. — Chaves, N. AL, Aug. 6, two males 

 {Towtisend) ; Mesilla Park, N. M., one male at flowers of Isocoma 

 Wrighiii, Sept. 11 {Porter and Cockerell); near Los Angeles and 



