1865.] 487 



also polished, and black at tips; antennas reddish at base, the scape 

 with ochraceous pubescence, the flagellum rufo-piceous. Thorax short 

 very broad and truncate in front, subcordate, being deeply strangulated 

 on each side behind the middle, the apex truncate and very abrupt ; 

 upper surface red or ferruginous, the sides, under surface and metatho- 

 rax behind often more or less fuscous, sometimes almost black ; lateral 

 excavation deep, smooth and polished ; posterior face of the metathorax 

 slightly concave, finely sculptured, sometimes shining; sides of thorax 

 and summit of metathorax sometimes with a long erect fuscous pubes- 

 cence. Legs black, sometimes more or less piceous, clothed with a glitter- 

 ing ochraceous pubescence longer and more dense on the coxae and femora 

 beneath. Abdomen large, ovate, broad at base, gradually narrowed to- 

 wards the apex ; large basal segment above clothed with a short, dense, 

 appressed reddish pubescence; remaining segments above and beneath 

 fringed with a long, dense pale ochraceous or cinereous pubescence, 

 which also covers the large ventral segment; the apical segments above 

 and the venter entirely is often more or less fuscous; the node is very 

 broad, being nearly as broad as the base of the second segment, flat- 

 tened, sometimes black, with black pubescence, mixed on the sides 

 with ochraceous. Length 4 — 6 lines. 



Ten specimens. Easily separated from the preceding species by the 

 large quadrate head, by the short thorax, broad in front and abruptlv 

 narrowed behind, and by the finer sculpture. The node of the abdo- 

 men in this species is differently shaped from that of any of the pre- 

 ceding species, being as broad as the base of the large second segmeut, 

 whereas in all the others it is rather small and narrow. 



16. Mutilla contumax, n. sp. 



Obscure rufous; head and abdomen densely clothed with silvery-ochraceoua 

 pubescence; head very large, broader than the thorax; large basal segment of 

 abdomen with three spots at base and band at apex, fuscous. 



Female. — Obscure rufous, very densely and somewhat coarsely punc- 

 tured ; head very large, quadrate, broader than the thorax and densely 

 clothed with a silvery-ochraceous pubescence; eyes small, round, entire, 

 convex and polished ; mandibles black at tips ; antennas entirely ferru- 

 ginous. Thorax short, subquadrate, broad and truncate in front, stran- 

 gulated behind the middle, declivious on the sides and behind ; upper 

 surface with a sparse blackish pubescence, on the lateral margins and 

 behind with long scattered, ochraceous pubescence; the deep lateral 

 posterior excavation large, smooth and polished. Legs pale rufous, 

 thinly clothed with ochraceous pubescence. Abdomen ovate, rather 

 broad at base, the large basal segment clothed above with a very short, 



