34 C. H. TYLER TOWNSEND. 



Length 8.5 mm. Face and front very wide ; face clothed with yellowish brown 

 pile, except a lighter patch above on sides. Front not quite one-half the width 

 of head, clothed with yellowish pile above and on sides, shining brown and bare 

 next ba.se of antennae. Antennae yellowish brown ; whole head and body brown, 

 the abdomen dark brown. Dorsum of thorax with four blackish vittaj, the vittse 

 clothed with black pile. Scutellum dark brown, strongly emarginate on apex. 

 Hind femora, tibise and metatar.si blackish, knees narrowly pale yellowish; mid- 

 dle and front femora and tibiae, brown ; knees and bases of tibise lighter brownish. 

 All the tai'si (except hind metatarsi) light brownish or yellowish brown. Hind 

 metatai"s) a little longer than the other joints together, thickened, very distinctly 

 widened, but not as wide as in the male. Wings strongly fuscous, a little lighter 

 on inner portions, but still uniformly infuscated. In the left wing the stump of 

 vein in first posterior cell unites with a stump from the fourth vein, and is thus 

 continued entirely across the cell, dividing it into two cells. Only a trace of this 

 abnormal stump of fourth vein is present in the right wing. 



Rock Creek, near Washington, D. C, June 15. One female. 



3. Micro<lon violeiis u. sp. 



Length 10 mm. Almost wnolly light violaceous. Face brilliant vivid green, 

 with violet reflections in oblique lights. Front dark green with violet reflections, 

 vertex violet. Dorsum of thorax violet, with green on disc, but whether in vittfe 

 is not apparent from bad preservation; whole abdomen and scutellum of a bright 

 violet, with almost no green, blue, or coppery reflection. Scutellum with two not 

 widely separated spines. Legs yellowish brown, with basal half of femora and 

 last joint of tarsus (posterior) blackish. Wings nearly hyaline, with veins of 

 anterior outer portions very faintly clouded. 



Jamaica (Bowrey . A single specimen, apparently a female. 



The face is whitish pilose. Antennse brownish, third joint longer 

 than first two together. Front but little less than one-third width 

 of head. This is the first Microdon recorded from the island of 

 Jamaica. I have examined the descrij^tions of all the South Amer- 

 ican species, including Walker's, and all the North American and 

 Mexican species, but am unable to identify this specimen with any 

 of them. The following species with predominating violet reflec- 

 tions, and especially with the face green, preclude my referring it to 

 them for the reasons named : 



J/, aurifex Wd., inmjualis Lw., ■yjlendens Wd., Willist., differ in 

 having the spines of scutellum widely separated. 



M. ketitx Lw. (litfers in the tarsi of both sexes being black. 



M. cy iniventfix Mcq. differs in having a stump of a vein on last 

 section of fourth vein and on vein closing discal cell, according to 

 Maequart's figure. 



M. vioLiceas Mcq. has scutellum without spines. 



J/, opitleritus Big. has scutellar spines long and stout. 



M. C)'a.%sitar8is Mcq. has legs green, with violet reflections. 



