606 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [-^^Ug.. 



Nomada valida, Smith. 



2 .—Length 8 to 9 mm. ; mandibles simple; abdomen dark chestnut- 

 red, l^asal half of first segment black right across: second submarginal 

 cell broad above; basal nervure a very little basad of transverso-mcdial, 

 or sometimes a fair distance basad. I find the markings just as de- 

 scribed by Smith, except that only the very narrow hind margin of 

 the ch^peus is black. 



I recognize A^ valida in three females from the Baker collection, in 

 the National ]\Iuseum. T\ao are lal)elled ''Canada, 1872," and the 

 other "New York, 1868." The scutellum is convex, bristly, but ver}- 

 slightly bilobed. The fourth antennal joint is a little longer than the 

 third. The insect is evidently close to 'N. simplex, Rob., but it lacks 

 the spots on the abdomen. N. valida is separated from A*", corvalli- 

 sensis by its larger size, distinct parapsidal grooves and dark bristles 

 on scape; from N. clarkii l^y its much darker coloration, and smaller 

 wings. It is, how^ever, a close ally of A'', clarkii, and when specimens 

 have been collected right across the northern part of the continent, 

 it may be necessary to reduce clarkii to subspecific rank. 



A male marked ''Canada, 1872," may belong to valida. It is 9^ 

 mm. long; face silvery-hairy; clyi)eus, supraclypeal mark and rapidly 

 narrowing lateral marks, yellow; scape rather stout, j^ellow tinged with 

 red, flagellum entirely red ; thorax very dark, but the bifid red marks on 

 mesothorax are faintly indicated; very narrow hind margin of pro- 

 thorax yellowish; scutellum and postscutellum mainly red; pleura 

 with an obscure dull yellow spot, and a smaller and more obscure red 

 one higher up; metathorax all black, with coarse vermiform rugse at 

 base; scutellum more prominent than in $ , and with white instead of 

 fuscous hairs; tegulse pale yellowish-testaceous (deep red in 9 ); third 

 submarginal cell as broad above as second (narrower in 9 ) ; basal 

 nervure a fair distance basad of transverso-medial ; abdomen ferrugi- 

 nous, basal half of first segment black; first segment with a rather 

 narrow interrupted }'ellow band; second with a very l)road yellow 

 band, having only a linear median interru]3tion ; remaining segments 

 with yellow bands, more or less notched behind laterally; apical plate 

 deeply notched; venter dark ferruginous, with a large yellow spot at 

 apex. The labrum is yellow, with a minute red denticle in the middle. 

 The legs are red, the hind femora black beneath. The dentate labrum 

 of this male allies it Avith A^ armcda, H.-S., which European species 

 is said to occur, like valida, in Nova Scotia. 



The large size of this male ("Canada, 1872") and the characters of 

 the Avings, tegulae, metathorax, etc., make its identity with valida so 



