274 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 216 



Head black. Apical 0.3 of clypeus light brown or whitish; mouth 

 parts, scape and pedicel except above, tegula, subtegular ridge, hind 

 corner of pronotum, front and middle coxae, and all trochanters white 

 or whitish; flagellum blackish brown, paler at base; thorax (except as 

 noted above) varying from entirely fulvous to entirely blackish, com- 

 monly fulvous with the propodeum, front part of prothorax, and front 

 part of mesoscutum dark brown, often the fulvous areas including 

 brownish areas; front and middle legs beyond trochanters light 

 fulvous; hind femur fulvous, with a preapical infuscation and its 

 extreme apex stramineous; hind tibia stramineous with a broad 

 subbasal band and its apical 0.35 fuscous; hind tarsus fuscous, its 

 first segment pale brown at base; tergites entirely black to entirely 

 fulvous, usually brown to blackish, paling to fulvous at base. 



This species is very common. Though variable in color the banding 

 on the hind femur and tibia is distinctive, and structurally the female 

 is unique in having the first trochanter of the middle leg triangularly 

 produced below. I am indebted to Mr. G. S. Walley for showing 

 this very useful character. 



Walsh's description of Polysphincta nigriceps, while not entirely 

 consistent, describes the leg banding in enough detail to make it almost 

 certain that this is the species he had. His description of P. nigrita, 

 however, is more contradictory and his statements that the basal 

 third of the hind tibia is dull rufous and that the first tergite is without 

 oblique subapical grooves could not apply to Z. nigriceps. The 

 tibial coloration is more like that of Z. walleyi while the absence of 

 oblique subapical grooves is foreign to all known species of Zatypota. 

 It must be that some of his observations were faulty. For want of a 

 better disposition the name nigrita is left in synonymy under nigriceps, 

 but with a question. 



There are four cocoons in the material at hand. These are sub- 

 cylindric with a little taper toward the ends, loose enough to be 

 transparent, and composed of coarse, straw colored silk in a loose, 

 looped weave. Erect loops stand out all over the surface, giving it a 

 fuzzy appearance, and there is the usual hole in the hind end. 



Specimens (42 cf, 859) : From British Columbia (Robson) ; California 

 (Camino, Santa Cruz Mts., "Siskiyou National Forest," and Tanbark 

 Flat in Los Angeles Co.); Connecticut (Voluntown); Delaware 

 (Wilmington); District of Columbia (Washington); Florida (Hills- 

 borough Co.); Illinois; Indiana (Lafayette and Mineral Springs); 

 Kansas (Lawrence); Maine (Casco); Maryland (Takoma Park); 

 Massachusetts (Holliston); Michigan (Clare Co., Douglas, Douglas 

 Lake, East Lansing, Gladwin Co., Midland Co., Oakland Co., Sand 

 Point in Huron Co., Shiawassee Co., and Van Buren Co.); Minnesota 

 (Chisago Co.); New Hampshire (Pinkham Notch); New Jersey 



