1S99.] 227 



ON SOME ALGERIAN MUTILLIDM COLLECTED BY THE 

 REV. A. E. EATON, M.A. 



BY EDWARD SAUNDERS, E. L. S. 



These notes, which would have formed part of a more extensive 

 paper in course of preparation, are being now published as Monsieur 

 E. Andre has asked me to allow him to include the new species here 

 described in his Monograph of the Palsearctic MutillidcB, which is 

 nearly ready for publication. 



MuTiLLA nuMERALis, Eadosz. 



Of this species, which is very closely allied to barhara, L., I 

 believe the ? is undescribed, and I therefore give a description of its 

 characters. 



Head black, rugose, clothed with long black hairs, a patch of decumbent 

 silvery-gold hairs on the forehead ; antennae piceous ; thorax red, rugose, the ru- 

 gosities rounded and smooth, clothed with long black hairs, which, however, are 

 neither so long nor so abundant as in barbara, the perpendicular anterior truncature 

 and collar of the pronotum black, the former densely fringed with black hairs as in 

 that species, sides of the thorax slightly sinuate, the anterior and posterior angles 

 largely rounded, width of the thorax in front scarcely greater than it is behind, in 

 this point differing considerably from barbara, which has the anterior lobe of the 

 thorax distinctly dilated, narrowing rather suddenly to the lateral sinus, behind 

 which the sides are subparaliel ; abdomen rugosely punctured, the base of the 2nd 

 and 5th segments finely shagreened (probably the hidden bases of all the segments 

 are similarly sculptured), black, clothed with short adpressed black hairs, intermixed 

 with red, which in certain lights impart quite a rusty tinge to the segments, and 

 occasional long bristles, basal segment with a broad, interrupted, apical band of 

 silvery hairs, 2nd and 3rd segments with similar bands, twice interrupted, the silvei-y 

 hairs on the 3rd extending to its base, 6th entirely clothed with silvery hairs, pygi- 

 dium rugosely punctured, its sides narrowly margined and reflexed near the apex ; 

 abdomen beneath castaneous-brown, clothed with long, erect, pale hairs, 2nd segment 

 largely and rugosely punctured, bearing two little sharp triangular tubercles on the 

 disc towards the apex, in exactly the same position as in the $ ; legs black, clothed 

 with silvery hairs, tibial spines rather shorter than in barbara. Long., 10 mm. 



1 ? , Constantino. " Ou M'cid, November 17th, 1894." 

 Besides the characteristic tubercles of the 2nd ventral segment, 

 which may possibly be variable and liable to disappear, the form of 

 the thorax appears to me to sufficiently distinguish this from barbara ; 

 a long series of course might prove this character to be unreliable, 

 but in all the examples of the latter species which I have seen the 

 peculiar dilatation of the thorax in front is quite constant. 



Mtrmosa ephippium, Eossi, (^. 

 Jurine Hymen., pi. ix, gen. 14. 

 The specimens which Mr. Eaton has taken of this species, like 



