AMERICAN DIPTERA. 41 



middle, and thus narrowly interrupting the yellow anterior border. Legs wholly 

 black, the knees and basal half of front and middle tibise. more; yellowish. 



Las Cruces, N. Mex., April 7. One female. 



An elegant and striking species, which will easily be distinguished 



from V. imbel/ina by the above characters. 



26. Volucella castauea Bigot. 



Length 13 mm. Face grayish yellow, stripe of cheeks brown, darker ))olow ; 

 no facial stripe. Scutellum, parallelogram in front of latter, and lateral stripe of 

 thorax brownish yellow, the s(^utellum with something of the same reflection as 

 the abdomen ; rest of thorax greenish black, shining. Wings flavous on anterior 

 basal portion, with three small clouds near stigma. 



Guanajuato, Mexico (A. Duges); one male. Agrees quite well 

 with Bigot's description, and is with little doubt that species. 



The abdomen is darker apical ly, more purplish on hind margin 

 of third segment, though this may simply be due to discoloration. 



27. Volucella coinstoclti Williston. 



Las Cruces, N. Mex. One male and two females, April 18. On 

 flowering shrubs on mesa toward Little Mt. (Tortuga). One ( female) 

 measures 9 nun. ; the other two 10.5 mm. Pile of face is apparently 

 shorter in female than in male, and is lateral in both sexes. First 

 two antenna! joints shining black, the third opaque light brown, the 

 second also light brown in one specimen. In speaking of the wings, 

 the " faintly clouded on the outer part and posterior border" of AVil- 

 liston's description consists in my specimens of a little flavous just 

 distad of the small brown stigma. 



The third antennal joint in the female is not twice as wide basally 

 as in the narrowed portion. 



28. Volucella estebana Towns. 



San Esteban, L. Cal. (Cal. Acad. Sci.), April, 1889. A pair, S 9 , 

 in coltu. For description see Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., 1894. 



29. Volucella esurieus Fab. 



Las Cruces, N. Mex. One male in valley, August 21, var. vio- 

 lacea Say, formerly known as V. mexicana Mcq. Face j^ale chestnut. 

 Less of a violet reflection, more of a blue. Thorax, scutellum and 

 abdomen all nearly concolorous, scutellum hardly lighter, all with a 

 milky bluish tinge. No sign of the prescutellar lighter marking 

 on hind edge of thorax. 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC. XXII. (6) MAHCH, 1895. 



