WASP GENUS CERCERIS — SCULLEN 481 



Head slightly wider than the thorax, face yellow below antennal 

 scrobes, dark fuscous on the vertex and occiput, with a ferruginous 

 patch back of the ocelli, genae mostly ferruginous with a small yellow 

 spot in the upper area; clypeal border with three denticles, the medial 

 one somewhat more prominent; clypeal surface slightly convex; 

 mandibles slightly sinuate but without distinct denticles; antennae 

 ferruginous, becoming fuscous apically, terminal segments blunt and 

 slightly curved. 



Thorax dark fuscous on the mesonotum, enclosure, and depressed 

 areas on the pleuron and venter; pronotum with a yellow band deeply 

 emarginate with a wedge-shaped ferruginous area; scutellum, meta- 

 notum, patches on the propodeum, and the tegulae yellow infused 

 with ferruginous; other parts largely ferruginous; tegulae low and 

 smooth; enclosure relatively smooth except for a medial groove and 

 limited punctation along the lateral margin; mesosternal tubercles 

 absent ; legs yellow and f en-uginous ; first metatarsal segment long and 

 straight on the hindleg; wings subhyaline tinged with ferruginous. 



Abdomen has the first tergum ferruginous with lateral yellow patches, 

 terga 2 to 5 with broad yellow bands slightly emarginate with ferru- 

 ginous, tergum 6 largely yellow; venter largely ferruginous with 

 deeply emarginate or broken bands on sternites 2,3, and 4; pygidium 

 with sides very slightly convex and the basal end noticeably broader 

 than the truncate apical end. 



Superficially, there is considerable similarity between C. jrontata 

 Say and C. hicornuta Gu^rin ; however, they may be separated readily 

 by the clypeal processes of the females and by the first tarsal segments 

 of the hindlegs of the males. There is a marked variation within the 

 species, varying both in size and color in the same locality. The 

 background color of the male, for example, may vary from ferruginous 

 to fuscous. The females may vary nearly as much. Western species 

 in general are lighter than eastern species. In the Bay Area in 

 California the species also become somewhat darker. The males 

 vary in length from 13 to 20 mm., and the females, from 15 to 22 mm. 

 The much darker and somewhat larger forms of the northeastern 

 range are recognized as a subspecies, C. Jrontata raui Rohwer. 



Types. — Say's types appear to have been lost. C. Jrontata Say 

 was described from Arkansas. From the description, the type appears 

 to have been a lighter form. A neotype female, from 19 mi. E. of 

 Lordsburg, N. Mex., 4600 ft., Aug. 1, 1946 (H. A. Scullen), desig- 

 nated by the writer, is deposited at the U.S. National Museum. 

 The type female of C. occidentalis Saussure and the type female of 

 C. texensis Saussure were not found in Vienna or Geneva. A male 

 at the Museum d' Histoire Naturelle, Geneva, determined by Saussure 

 as C. texensis Saussure was considered a representative of that species. 



