being the male of Methoca, pi. 329, must be united to the 

 Mutillidae. 



The male Tiphiae are often found resting on the ground, 

 especially in sandy districts, and the females frequent umbel- 

 liferous and other flowers. The difference in the marginal 

 cell, which is closed in the male, as shown in our coloured 

 figure, and open in the female, as represented at fig. 9, forms 

 a remarkable character in this group. 



1. femorata Fab. — Panz. 53. 3. — Jur.pl. 9. Gen. 11. — villosa 

 Fab.$.—Panz. 98. 16. 



Black, shining, pubescent, metathorax with 3 elevated lines, 

 the central one abbreviated, legs rufous in the female, anterior 

 pair brown ; wings pale reddish-brown : length 2i to 5 lines. 

 Latreille says this insect makes its nest in the earth at the 

 end of summer. It is a common and variable species ; some* 

 times the legs are red in the male and black in the female. 



Taken in Norfolk, Birch Wood, the New Forest ; August, 

 Parley and Charmouth, Mr. Dale; on the beach at Bourne- 

 mouth, the Honourable C. A. Harris; and on flowers near 

 Dover in July, J. C. 



2. Morio Fab.?— Panz. 55. 1. 



" Black, villose and punctured ; apex of the mandibles ru- 

 fescent. The metathorax rugose, without the longitudinal 

 elevated lines ; the wings with their stigma very large, and 

 their nervures piceous. The abdomen very villose and 

 shining : length 5 lines." Shnck. 

 The male in the British Museum is believed to have been 



taken in Devonshire by Dr. Leach. The Fabrician specimen 



was from Spain. 



3. minuta Vand. Lind. — Curt. Brit. Fnt. pi. 66^. (?. 



Male. Intense black ; shining and pubescent ; palpi brown, 

 apex of mandibles ferruginous ; metathorax with 3 complete 

 elevated lines ; abdomen very finely punctured : wings 

 stained brown ; nervures deeper, stigma large ovate and 

 piceous; apexof anterior tibiae ferruginous, their tarsi more 

 ochreous, tips of the other tibiae and all the tarsi sometimes 

 ferruginous ; spurs whitish : antennae reddish brown be- 

 neath in the female, mandibles rufous only at the middle ; 

 apex of abdomen pitchy-red. 



The neuration of the wings varies greatly in this little spe- 

 cies, as shown by Mr. Shuckard, who has taken several speci- 

 mens on Hampstead Heath, and Mr. Dale finds it in abun- 

 dance atGlanville's Wootton on grass and laurels, from the end 

 of March to June. He informs me that he took a ^th species 

 on the sand-hills at Braunton Burrows in Devon the end of 

 July. I observed the male of F. femorata in considerable 

 numbers on the sand-hills at Boulogne the end of August, but 

 not one female ! 



The Plant is Thalictrum minus., Less Rue -weed, from Arn- 

 cliffj communicated by Mr. T. Howson. 



