166 THE BEES OF THE SOLOMON ISLANDS, 



Crocisa gemmata n.sp. 



Q Length about 13^ mm. ; black, with exceedingly brilliant, 

 shining blue markings ; scutellum -—-— -shaped (hind margin) ; 

 clypeus with dense small punctures ; keel between antennae 

 very strong ; upper half of clypeus, supraclypeal area, sides 

 of face almost up to ocelli, and naiTow posterior orbits, all 

 covered with blue hair ; third antennal joint about as long as 

 fourth ; thorax marked with blue as follows, a large round 

 patch on pleura, two elongate marks on upper part of pro- 

 thorax, and two almost contiguous with them on mesothorax, 

 median spearhead-shaped mark on mesothorax in front, and 

 four large mesothoracic spots (the antei"ior discal, the pos- 

 terior marginal) : scutellum with small inconspicuous punc- 

 tures, wholly without spots, and without any pale tuft from 

 beneath margin ; hair of occiput all black : tegulae black ; 

 wings very dark fuscous, shining purple ; anterior tibiae blue 

 on outer side, but on middle and hind tibiae only the basal 

 part is blue ; abdomen rather elongate, all the blue bands 

 very broadly interrupted : first segment with large blue 

 quadrate patches, slightly emarginate on inner side ; blue of 

 fifth segment much reduced : venter black. 



^ Length about 11 A mm. ; quadrate marks on sides of first 

 abdominal segment strongly incised medially : hind femora 

 with a large sharp thorn-like tooth beneath. 



Hab.~So\omon Islands, July-August, 1909(W. W. Frog- 

 gatt. No. C 1). This is extremely close to ('. eiiuirfilndftt Lep., 

 from New Ireland. It differs from Lepeletier's description of 

 C . emarginata in the larger size, and the total absence of 

 any line of blue hair on each side of the mesothorax next to 

 the wings. It also differs in the absence of any blue mark- 

 ings on the tarsi. According to Friese, the male of C. emar- 

 ginata has no tooth on the hind femur, and Lepeletier men- 

 tions no tooth. As, however, Friese says the blue markings 

 are dull, not shining, it is evident that his "etfinrghuita" is 

 wrongly identified. In Friese's table, ('. gcinwata runs to 



