274 BRUES. 



Mesothorax as broad as long; the mesonotum strongly conA^ex, shining, 

 faintly shagreened, with only very slight traces of parapsidal furrows 

 anteriorly; scutellum triangular in outline, highly convex and sepa- 

 rated from the mesonotum by a deep, narrow groove, terminated by 

 a short spine or thorn at the apex. This thorn is straight or slightly 

 curved downward at tip and projects horizontally in the plane of the 

 upper surface of the thorax; below it near the upper edge of the 

 propodeum on each side is another backwardly projecting spine of 

 very slender form which is more or less concealed in dried specimens 

 by the dense white backwardly directed hairs that cover the propo- 

 deum ; upper surface of thorax sparsely covered by short sparse white 

 appressed hairs. Pro- and mesopleurse smooth and highly polished, 

 bare. Abdomen short, ovate, no longer than the thorax, highly 

 polished, with a few minute appressed white hairs; lateral carina 

 distinct; first segment densely white woolly pubescent on the sides, 

 but bare medially above; second segment one-third longer than the 

 remaining ones together, widest just before apex, almost as wide as 

 long; remaining segments very rapidly narrower; third and fourth 

 extremely short, fifth noticeably longer; sixth triangular, as long as 

 the three preceding. Ovipositor very short, never exserted for more 

 than one-third the length of the abdomen; third, fourth and fifth 

 segments occasionally exserted to twice the extent described above. 

 Wings with only extremely minute marginal cilia; disc with rather 

 sparse strong hairs which form very irregular lines; base with very 

 minute hairs; anterior and posterior margins bare near the middle of 

 the wing. Frenulum consisting of two hooks. 



Type and numerous paratypes from Kartabo, British Guiana 

 (W. M. Wheeler). 



Synopeas meridionalis var. clara var. nov. 



9 . Length the same as the typical form. Differs by the entirely 

 yellow antennal scape and yellow coxse and legs, with only the thick- 

 ened part of the hind femora and the hind tarsi, infuscated. Rarely 

 the hind femora are slightly darkened at tips, but there are no inter- 

 grades in the many specimens of both forms before me. 



The typical form and the pale variety are about equally numerous 

 in the series and the variety averages a trifle larger in size. 



This species differs from the North American form with similar 

 habits, perhaps S. cornicola Ashm., mentioned on a later page in the 

 following characters: it is considerably smaller, the lateral ocelli are 

 closer to the eye-margin, and the parapsidal furrows are not complete. 



