38 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.71 



PODALONIA MEXICANA (Saussure) 



Ammophila mexicana Saussure, Reise d. Novara, Zool., vol. 2, pt. 1, Hym., p. 25, 

 1867. Female and male. 



I have not seen Saussure 's types of this species. So far as the 

 description goes I can find no statements which would prevent this 

 from being argentifrons Cresson. 



The original description is as follows: 



"Nigra, nigro-hirta, abdomine coeruleo, alis pallide fumatis, cyanescentibus. — Long. 

 Corp. 0.016; alae 0.011 . 



9 Nigra, breviter nigro-vel cinereo-hirta. Clypeus et mesonotum crasse, caput 

 et prothorax tenuius punctata. Pronotum medium postice et mesonotum antice 

 sulco divisa. Mesonotum supra et scutellum nitida, sparse punctata. Post- 

 scutellum tuberculo instructum. Metanotum transversim striatum et rugosum, 

 supra utrinque sulcatum et in medio obsolete sulco tenui divisum, lateribus sulco 

 obliquo valde notatis. Abdomen coeruleum; petiolo subbrevi, paulo raagis quam 

 dimidium primi segmenti eflRciente. Alae fumatae, violaceo-micantes; tertia 

 areola cubitalis extus rotundata (scilicet antice et postice coarctata). 



d Minor, gracilis; clypei apice truncato, margine subconcavo et utrinque 

 rotundato clypeo et facie capitis valde argentatis. 



Variat.: a Alis subhj'alinis, margine apicali griseo-cyanescente. — b Alis plus 

 minusve obscurioribus. 



In AGRO MExicANo frcquens; in Cordilleris orientalibus (Cordoba, Sangolica) 

 et etiam in campis altioribus et frigidioribus (Teshuitlan, et in valle urbis Mex- 

 ico) specimina numerosa cepi." 



PODALONIA MORRISONI (Cameron) 



Ammophila morrisoni Cameron, Biol. Centr.-Amer., Hym., vol. 2, p. 21, 1888. 

 Male. 



The only specimen I could find in the British Museum is labeled 

 *' Ammophila morrisoni Cam. Type " in Cameron's writing, but is a 

 female though Cameron figures the genitalia of the male and de- 

 scribes it as a male. Someone has placed this insect under sonoren- 

 sis in the collection. The description says: "The long, silvery-white 

 hair is long, moderately dense, and almost uniformly distributed." 

 The specimen above referred to has no white hairs. Cameron gives 

 the length as 21 mm,, while this specimen is 14 mm. Cameron says 

 that there is no central mesonotal furrow, while this specimen has 

 one. In other regards also, this insect does not agree with the 

 description and I am of the opinion that his label has, in some way, 

 gotten onto the wrong specimen. I did not see anywhere in the 

 collection an insect which did seem to meet the description of this 

 species. 



In many ways Cameron's description seems to agree with the male 

 of nicholi Carter and this may prove to be a synonym. Until more 

 evidence on this point can be obtained, however, the two may well 

 be kept separate. 



