22 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Discussion and synonymy based on examination of type, types of 

 both synonyms, homotype, and a number of other females and one 

 other male, mostly in the United States National Museum. 



This is the most abundant of all North American species of Poly- 

 sphinda. Failure to comprehend the antigeny has caused the de- 

 scription of the male under at least two different names. Prorancher 

 considered females at first determined by him as texana to be the 



Fig. 5.— Poltsphincta texana Cresson. Female. 



same as his vicina, but evidently still considered vicina as a vidid 

 species and texana as not occurring in his fauna. Dalla Torre (Cat 

 Hym.) reduced vicina to synonymy with texana. 



This species is very distinct from any of its subgeneric allies in its 

 strong punctuation, intensely black hind tibiae and tarsi, the former 

 with its white dorsal stripe and basal annulus and the latter with 

 only the first joint white at base, and its snort ovipositor. The 



