VOL. 116 



438 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Types— The type female of C. athene Banks, from Claremont, 

 Calif. (C. F. Baker), is at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 



Harvard, no. 23537. 



Distribution.— Southern California, with a few scattered records 

 east of the Colorado River in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. 



Prey ubcord. —Eurymetopon rufipes Escholtz (Tenebriomdae) at 

 Mecca, Riverside Co., Cahf., July 23, 1956 (Wasbauer, 1957, p. 131). 



Plant recobd. —Asclepias sp. (California), Bacchans sp. (Texas), 

 B glutinosa (California), Coyote melon (CaUfornia), Croton calijornicus 

 (California), Eremocarpus setigerus (California), Eriogonum fascicula- 

 tum (California), Gnaphalium beneolens (Cahfornia), Melilotus alba 

 (California), Salix s^. (CaUfornia), Tamarix gallica (Cahfornia). 



39. Cerceris macrosticta Viereck and Cockerell 



Figures 54, 141a,b,c,d,e,f 



Cerceris macrosticta Viereck and Cockerell, 1904, p. 133.- Viereck, 1906b, p. 234.- 



ScuUen, 1942, p. 187.— Banks, 1947, p. 9.— ScuUen, 1951, p. 1009. 

 Cerceris ampla Banks, 1912a, p. 16. 



Female.— Length 18-20 mm. Black, dark amber, amber, and 

 yeUow; punctation coarse and deep; pubescence normal. 



Head subequal in width to thorax; upper part of face above antennal 

 scrobes apical one-third and denticles of mandibles, and apical 

 segments of antennae, all dark amber to black; lower part of face, 

 basal two-thirds of mandibles, and large patch back of eye yeUow 

 infused with amber; remaming parts of head variable shades of 

 amber- clypeal margin considerably extended from the central lobe 

 an extension that is deeply emargmate medially, with clusters of 

 bristles just above the lateral angles, and the sides of this extension 

 showing deep incisions, which are bordered by heavy cormae; clypeal 

 surface process cone shaped with the apex blunt; mandibles with 

 two large, separated denticles; antennae normal m form. _ 



Thorax largely reddish amber with the more elevated areas showmg 

 yellow and depressed areas becommg dark amber to black; pronotum, 

 metanotum, patches on the enclosure, most of the propodeum, 

 irregular areas on the pro- and mesopleuron, and the tegulae, all are 

 yellow tmged with light amber; tegulae smooth and not elevated; 

 enclosure with a Kght medial groove, and the surface largely covered 

 with deep pits; legs largely amber, becoming more or less yeUow on 

 the apical parts; wings clouded with amber. 



Abdomen largely yeUow but in some specimens the more basal 

 terga shows an amber-shaded area in the center; venter yellowish 

 amber; pygidium with the sides sHghtly convex and both ends 

 truncate. 



