118 AMERICAN HYMENOPTERA. 



Abdomen. — With dark pile. 



Wings. — Very dark, with violaceous reflections. 

 Legs. — Black and with dark pile. 



Dimensions. — Length, 16 mm. ; spread of wings, about 40 mm.; 

 width of abdomen at second segment, about 1\ mm. 



Habitat. — Bonito, Pernambuco Province, Brazil. 



This is the male of one of four apparently distinct black 

 forms present in South or Central America. I should have 

 taken it for the male of kohli had not Handlirsch already 

 described a male, which is unknown to me, for that species, 

 from abundant material. It is possible that Handlirsch 

 really erred in his association of the sexes of kohli. It is 

 also possible that the male here described is a melanic speci- 

 men of some species already known and does not represent 

 a valid new species, though all the true melanic bumble-bees, 

 which I have seen, have had some trace of the true colora- 

 tion of the species to which they belonged, by means of which 

 their true identity could be easily discovered. 



Bonibus (Bonibiis) atratxis new species. 

 Bombus violaceHsV{.o\ni\>&r%, Anal. Soc. Cient. Argent., VIII, 1879. p. 

 156, n. 1, cf. 

 " cayennensis var. violaceus Ant. Handlirsch, Ann. naturh. 

 Hofmus. Wien., Ill, 1888, p. 241, ^ (pars.); 

 T. 10, F. 1. 



Types. — Described from two males, one from Chiriqui and 

 the other from San Bernardino, Paraguay. Both are de- 

 posited in the collection of the United States National Mu- 

 seum. 



A black species, with ivings dark and having slight violaceous reflec- 

 tions. Malar space somewhat shorter than its width at apex, nearly one- 

 fourth as lofig as eye. Third antennal segm.ent about three-fourths as 

 long as the fourth, the fifth considerably longer than the fourth Geni- 

 talia with heads of sagittcs'reachijtg posteriorly somewhat father than 

 tips of squamcs and nearly as far as distal ends of volsellce. Distal ends 

 of volsellcE very broad and not reaching far beyond tips of squatncs. 



Females. — Niger may represent the females of this species. 



Male. Head. — Face and occiput entirely dark or with the shorter 

 pile whitish, giving the general effect of very dark cinereous. Ventro- 

 lateral portions entirely dark. Malar space somewhat shorter than its 

 width at apex, nearly one-fourth as long as eye. Clypeus mostly 



