222 NORTH AMERICAN SCELIPHRON (hYMENOPTERA) 



strij); fifth ventral with a few scattered punctures and hairs; fpiu'th with a 

 black or brown pubescent area on the middle of the posterior part of the seg- 

 ment and a few hairs on each side (Fig. 3); third bears a smaller similarly 

 colored pubescent area and a deeply sinuate double row of hairs extending 

 across the segment behind the pubescent area, but if the abdomen is at all 

 telescoped these cannot always be seen; posterior margin of third segment 

 sinuate; second segment with a V-shaped double row of hairs; in all of the 

 above cases the hairs may be missing, but the punctures can still be seen. 



Wings vary from pale to dark fuliginous, with violet to purple reflections 

 except at tips, which are dull and sometimes darker than the basal portion of 

 the wing; fore wings have no distinctive characters apart from those shown 

 in the figures; tegulae ))lue green or blue black, sometimes with purple lights, 

 shining, paler at margins, finely sericeous for basal half, hairs dark; hind 

 wings, angle between median and transverse median usually greater than 

 a right angle; discoidal leaves cubital slightly exterior to junction of median 

 cubital and transverse median. 



Legs colored with various shades of lilue, lilack or green, sometimes with 

 metallic purple reflections ; coxae and trochanters blue black or greenish black, 

 sometimes dull purple in old specimens, strongly punctured especially on ven- 

 tral side, with long l)lack hairs and fine brown sericeous vestiture; femora and 

 tibiae colored much the same as the preceding segments, femora with rather 

 long black hairs on ventral side and minute brown hairs over the whole surface, 

 fore and hind tibiae finely sericeous, with a coarser thrown sericeous area along 

 inner surface; tarsi may be dark to pur])lish or the sericeous hairs may give 

 them a brownish appearance; claws dark brown for basal half, paler at tips; 

 spines on legs black to brown. 



Male. — Differs from female as follows: Body usually more hairy; eyes more 

 approximate below than above; clypeal teeth small and rather pointed, no side 

 processes; frons less sunken at sides of clypeus; mandibles of medium size, 

 pointed at tip; antennae with thirteen .segments; second segment of flagellum 

 longer than first ; dorsal lobes of collar usually somewhat more acute ; abdomen 

 more compressed ventrally, especially the last few segments, tip curved under; 

 seventh or last dorsal segment evenlj' rounded, covered with short black hairs 

 chiefly at sides, hinder margin bearing a pair of genital palpi one on each side, 

 sixth, fifth, fourth and third dorsal segments wath one, sometimes two rows of 

 small punctures near hinder margins, but corresponding hairs often absent; 

 eighth or terminal ventral segment usually drawn in so that only the lobed 

 distal portion projects beyond the hinder margin of the seventh ventral and 

 covers the anal opening; this lobe is here termed the hypopygium, but has been 

 given various names by different authors, it is covered with short erect hairs 

 seen l)est in profile; seventh ventral .segment bare, sixth finely sericeous; fifth 

 and fourth finely sericeous in center, punctate at sides; third with anterior 

 margin sericeous and a sinuous row of punctures anterior to it; second with a 

 deeply sinuous row of punctures and hairs. 



Length. — Females, 15 to 23 mm.; males, 12 to IS nun. 



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