June, IPll.] 125 



Tasch. Of the handsome black, yellow-legged, loiig-waisted Sceli- 

 2)hr(i)i gpirifc.r, L., I took two examples, one at Khartum, the other in 

 the train at Mvit Mir Station on the Sudan Kailway ; it also occurred 

 at Luxor ; my specimens are all females. PhUanthus coarctatus, Spin., 

 and variegatiis, Spin., were both abundant towards Mogran, males greatly 

 predominating. Other abundant small Sphegids were Cerceris albi- 

 cincta, Klug, 28 (J, 2 $, and C. suhimpressa, Schlett., 24 (^, 2 ? ; 

 C. annexa, Kohl, was not so common, only 4 ^ and 1 $ being 

 taken. The great majority of these small Sphegids (as well as of 

 Chrysids and Flies), were obtained by sweeping the white fluffy 

 Amarantaceous plant jErva ?javariica, Juss., but a few were obtained 

 from the Boragineous Aniebia sp. The large bees and wasps on the 

 other hand frequented Tacoma stans, Acacia and Parkinsonia, though 

 a few occurred at Calotropis. 



Of Bembex lusca, Spin., I secured one of each sex, of B. medi- 

 terranea, Handl., three males, one was taken on jErva, one near Burri, 

 where so far as I know that plant did not grow. Of the fine large 

 Sphex umhrosus, Chrst, a black-bodied insect with clear wings, save at 

 the base, a specimen ( (J ) was taken to the west of the town. In the 

 same locality, on a small umbellate w^eed, I took a male TacJiytes, a 

 striking insect with a testaceous abdomen and dark borders to the wings. 

 Mr. Morice thinks this may be the male of superbiens, Morice, the de- 

 scription of which will shortly appear in the Transactions of the 

 Entomological Society ; he compares it with monetaria, Smith, from 

 India. 



The difficult genus Pompilns was represented by ten males of a 

 species of the Apiyrus group. 



No social wasps were met with ; on the other hand the genus 

 Eumenes was much to the fore, by far the commonest species lieiug the 

 Egyptian blue-black E. tinctor, Chrst, of which I took ten males and 

 four females ; of E. dimidiatipennis, Sauss., and E. hpeUetieri, Sauss., 

 I took one male each ; of E. esuriens, L., a truly hungry-looking, long- 

 waisted, yellow, brown and black beast, I took one of each sex. Of 

 the large black purple- winged Bhynchmm ? sytiagrioides, Sauss., with 

 its orange-tipped tail, I took two of each sex ; it f reqiiented the flowers 

 of Tacoma. Of B. cyanopterum, Sauss., I found a solitary male at 

 Acacia flowers. Of B. niloticum, Sauss., I took two males at Khartum, 

 another at Atbara junction 200 miles to the northward. A female 

 Odynerus {Lionotus) belonging to \.\\Q parvidus group may possibly 

 prove to be a new species. 



The handsome and conspicuous Carpenter-bees were as common 



L 



