240 CHARLES A. KLAKP:. 



or testaceous; eyes large, round, i)olishe4 ; base of niaudihles ferrugiuous, tips; 

 l)lack ; thorax elongate ovate, narrowed posteriorly, closely punctured and clothed 

 with appressed ferruginous pubescence; pro- and niesothorax having on each 

 side a small ovate tubercle ; metathorax truncate, and having on the disc a slight 

 transverse ridge ; legs blackish, clothed with glittering white hairs, intermediate 

 and posterior tibiffi armed exteriorly with strong spines ; abdomen ovate, basal 

 segment small, testaceous, apically margined with black ; second segment finely 

 punctured, clothed with fine appressed ferrugiuous pubescence, and having a 

 small, rounded, testaceous spot at the basal margin, its apical margin black ; 

 apical segments fringed with pale glittering pubescence ; ventral surface shining, 

 finely punctured ; apical margins clothed as al)ove, but less densely. Length 7- 

 13 mm. 



Hab. — United 8tates. 



This is a very variable and abundant species ; in some individuals 

 the legs are ferruginous, and without the dark spot on the second 

 abdominal segment, while in some instances there are indications of 

 small lateral spots, and occasionally the disc of the thorax and ab- 

 domen beneath is testaceous. Its geographical range is quite ex- 

 tended, being found from Maine to Texas, and westward to California. 



It resembles *S'. simU/ima Smith, but is recognized by the more 

 elongate thorax, which is narrowed behind, and the smaller head ; 

 the head in simU/ima being broad and quadrate. 



Sphieroliptlialnia vesta Cresson. 



Female. — Eufous, densely and rather roughly punctured ; head and thorax 

 clothed with a sparse, glittering, ochraceous pubescence, but very dense on the 

 apical segments of the abdomen ; head not wider than the thorax, the vertex 

 with a few scattered, long, blackish hairs, the pubescence about the mouth long, 

 dense and glittering ochraceous ; eyes small, rounded, entire and convex ; man- 

 dibles piceous; antennae piceous, the basal joint with a short ochraceous pubes- 

 cence; thorax rather short, truncate in front, narrowed behind the middle and 

 slightly strangulated, rounded above and behind, but abrupt on the sides, the 

 metathorax is rather abruptly rounded and excavated on each side ; the thorax 

 above has a long, scattered, erect, blackish pubescence, and a short, appressed, 

 reddish pile, having a beautiful golden-red hue when viewed in certain lights; 

 sides of the thorax have a thin, fine, pale pubescence, more dense in excavations ; 

 legs black, or piceous black, clothed with a glittering ochraceous pubescence ; in 

 some specimens the coxffi and femora are more or less tinged with dull rufous; 

 abdomen ovate, rather less coarsely punctured than the thorax ; the node and 

 the large basal segment, except their apical margins, rufous; the remaining seg- 

 ments blackish, all the segments above and beneath have an ajjical fringe of 

 long, dense, glittering ochraceous pubescence ; the large basal segment al)ove and 

 beneath has a short, scattered, ochraceous pubescence, occasionally with a rounded 

 patch of short, black pubescence on the basal middle above ; sometimes the apex 

 of this segment is broadly black, and sometimes the segment is divided down 

 the middle by a blackish line. Length 8.5-11 mm. 



