NO. 2178. THE GENUS BEACON FABRICIVS^MORRISON. 339 



plates distinct, separated by a deep groove, face only slightly flattened 

 below the antennae, but rather deeply grooved down this flattened 

 area; ridges above the antennal fossae well developed, usually not 

 strongly arched at any point, although this appears to vary some; 

 highest opposite the median ocellus; continuous to the lateral oceUi; 

 profile of face divided into two slight arches, one from the apex of the 

 clypeus to opposite the clypeal foveae, the second from this point 

 to the antemial pits; the whole head more hairy than in many species, 

 face rather uniformly and fairly closely punctured over its whole 

 sm-face; compound eyes rather large, dark; ocelli pale, the lateral ocelli 

 shghtly nearer to each other than to the median ocellus; antennae 

 black; first two segments shining, rest dull, 37-41 mostly 38 or 40 

 segmented; head typically pale redchsh, approaching orange with at 

 least the cheeks to the clypeal foveae, the vertex in the center, the 

 antennal pits and the occiput in the middle, black or blackish; labrum 

 about as long as wide, blackish or blackish-brown, the lower border 

 paler except the apical rim; mandibles pale, bases, and apices black, 

 rather broad, curved at apex, imier tooth smaller than in many 

 other species; beak black or blackish, head including labrum, varying 

 from entirely pale in inmaature and faded specimens to almost wholly 

 black, except for the lower portion of the clypeus and a border 

 around the eyes. 



Tliorax. — Somewhat longer than high, color very variable; pro- 

 epistema usually more or less black or blackish ; sternum pale, black- 

 ish or black; tegulac typically blackish-brown with the inner margin 

 pale but varying from entirely pale reddish to black; propodeum 

 always red; pronotal lobes smooth in center, closely and finely punc- 

 tate and hairy around the borders, shinmg; apical pits large; proe- 

 pisterna more coarsely and roughly punctured and hairy; the apical 

 lobes more shinmg, but also punctured; parapsidal furrows fahly 

 deep, nearly straight, distinctly crenulate; median groove of mesono- 

 tum usually distinctly and broadly grooved m front, but sometimes 

 more narrowly and obsoletely; lateral lobes somewhat flattened; 

 hind angles of mesoscutum not very much produced; whole surface 

 of mesonotum sparsely and rather finely punctured and hairy; scu- 

 tellar fossa rather deep, front wall more or less sloping with only the 

 median carina prominent; scutellum triangular, the sides and end 

 romided off; mesopleurae shining, fairly closely punctate and hairy, 

 the groove deep and coarsely crenulate, terminating abruptly, nearly 

 horizontal or sloping diagonally upward, equal m length to about 

 haK the width of the mesopleurae ; venter hardly more hairy than the 

 pleurae; metapleurae less shinmg, more coarsely and closely punc- 

 tured, the lower third roughened and irregularly areolate; propodeum 

 areolate, with six longitudinal lines, the two median typically con- 

 verging gradually in front and suddenly behind, the various pairs 



