14 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.64. 



2. Abdomen broader and less strongly compressed, second tergite much broader at 

 apex than at base and hardly longer than broad at apex (Japan). 



major, new species. 

 Abdomen more strongly compressed, second tergite much narrower (holarctic). 



glaucoptenis Linnaeus. 



OPHELTES GLAUCOPTERUS (Linnaeus). 



There can, I think, be no doubt that the North American Jlavi- 

 'peiinis (Provancher) and the typical European form are conspeciiic. 

 They may, perhaps, be treated as races or varieties more or less 

 easily distinguishable by a tendency in the American race to a darker 

 red and more black on the abdomen and the more acutely conical 

 scutellum in the European race. However, I have seen only two 

 European specimens, and it may be that with a larger number of 

 specimens these differences would be found not to hold. 



The Southern European y&rieij fuscipennis (Gravenhorst) has its 

 counterpart in America in an undescribed dark-winged variety (bar- 

 heri, new variety) from the vicinity of Washington, District of 

 Columbia. 



The species as a whole shows remarkable variation in both 

 structure and color. The most remarkable of the structural vari- 

 ations is in the form of the head; the temples varying from hardly 

 swollen and no wider than the eyes to very strongly swollen and 

 much wider than the eyes. The new southern variety, harheri, 

 described below has the temples more strongly swollen than any of 

 the other specimens before me, there being in fact a rather distinct 

 interval between the form of the head in this variety and in the 

 northern form. The degree of swelling of the temples is, however, 

 rather closely associated with size, and the two specimens of harheri 

 are larger than any of the others. Associated with the form of the 

 head is a certain amount of variation in the strength of the frontal 

 carinae and emargination of the eyes, the wider the head in general 

 the weaker the carinae and the emargination of the eyes. 



The conical scutellum of the typical form is approached very 

 closely in both of the American varieties, but in the majority of the 

 specimens oi jlavipennis it is merely convex. 



The form of the propodeum varies greatly, especially with respect 

 to the length of the petiolar area and the distinctness of the costulae. 

 The latter are very seldom actually present but are sometimes 

 indicated by an elevation, though frequently the lateral areas 

 are flat. 



Associated apparently with size are certain varations in venation. 

 In the smallest specimens the nervulus is interstitial or even slightly 

 antefurcai and the second discoidal cell is very narrow at base, 

 sometimes less than half as wide as the apex of the brachial cell; 

 while in the largest specimens the nervulus is strongly postfurcal and 



