1865.] 475 



Genus MELLINUS, Fabr. 

 Mellinus rufinodus, n. sp. 



Black; a line on collar, transverse line on scutellum and postscutellum, 

 broad band on second and fourth segments of abdomen and a spot on each side 

 of the third, yellow ; legs, except base, and node of abdomen, rufous ; wings 

 hyaline. 



Female. — Black, shining ; head, pleura and ruetathorax slightly cov- 

 ered with a fine glittering cinereous pile ; head subopaque, faintly gol- 

 den on the vertex ; occasionally there is a faint yellow line on the 

 frontal orbits ; cheeks and occiput shining ; antennae black above, rufo- 

 testaceous beneath. Thorax : a line over the collar, posterior margin 

 of the tubercles, and a short transverse line on scutellum and post- 

 scutellum. pale yellowish ; tegulae yellowish in front, ferruginous be- 

 hind. Wings hyaline, glossy ; nervures blackish. Legs rufo-ferruo-i- 

 uous, sericeous ; coxas, trochanters and base of femora, more or less, 

 black. Abdomen shining black ; the node or basal segment entirely 

 rufo-ferruginous ; a broad band, sometimes slightly interrupted on the 

 posterior third of the second segment, a transverse, subquadrate spot 

 on each side of the third segment, and the fourth segment entirely or 

 nearly so, pale yellow or whitish ; the two apical segments black ; ven- 

 ter black. Length 5 — 6 lines; expanse of wings 84 — 10* lines. 



Male. — Very similar to the female, but smaller and more slender ; 

 the basal joint of the antennae beneath is yellowish-white ; the legs are 

 much darker, the femora being almost entirely black ; the abdomen is 

 beautifully sericeous, while the fifth segment has a transverse yellow- 

 ish-white fascia as on the fourth segment, both being sometimes abbre- 

 viated on each side; the apical segment is occasionally tinged with 

 obscure ferruginous. Length 5 lines; expanse of wings 8i lines. 



Twelve 9 , fourteen % specimens. Mr. Ridings observed numerous 

 specimens of this species on horse excrement, preying, no doubt, on dip- 

 terous larvae. 



Fam. CRABRONIP.E. 



Genus OXYBELTJS, Latr. 

 1. Oxybelus interruptus, n. sp. 



Black : tubercles and a more or less interrupted band on each abdominal seg- 

 ment, white; anterior tibiae within and their tarsi, honey-yellow: wings dusky. 



Female. — Black, closely and finely punctured, with a thin glittering 

 pile, more obvious on the face ; antennas piceous. dull honey-yellow at 

 tips beneath. Thorax : mesothorax with a well-impressed central lon- 

 gitudinal line; tubercles white ; pleura subrugose ; metathorax rather 

 coarsely reticulated, the squama whitish, the mucro stout, sublinear, 

 grooved above, and subtruncate or very slightly emarginate at tip ; 



