82 LAprfi, 



I am sure as to the ? V from Greece, one of them having been 

 taken actually in copula. Those from Smyrna, so far as I can see, are 

 exactly similar. 



In all, I have eight specimens, which 1 should call manicata ? . 

 They are most vexatiously like adunca, l J z. — in fact, after a prolonged 

 and minute comparison of the two species, the only distinguishing 

 ? characters I can find are the following — 



Manicata is larger (14 — 17 mill, long, and at least 4 mill, wide) ; its hind 

 calcaria are completely red ; there is a more clearly defined rugose triangle at the 

 extreme base of the propodeum ; its general style of puncturation is a little stronger 

 than that of adunca — not so shallow, and in some places closer ; especially it may 

 be noticed that on the mesonotum near the teguhe the punctures in adunca become 

 almost remote, and the surface in consequence shines a little, whereas in manicata 

 the whole mesonotum is covered with close reticulate punctures, making it look 

 quite dull : also in manicata the tegulae themselves show pretty distinct fine punc- 

 tures almost all over, while in adunca the greater part of their surface is impunctate. 



Neither in the clypeus, the antenna', the legs, the wings, nor even in the last 

 ventral segment (usually so helpful in discriminating ? 9 of this group) can 1 find 

 any substantial difference between adunca and manicata. The pilosity, fimbriation 

 of the abdominal segments, etc., seems quite identical, and both species have the 

 shining, comparatively naked abdominal surface, by which adunca is so easily dis- 

 tinguished from ctBmentaria, Lepelletieri, etc. 



The characters given above are, it must be owned, not altogether 

 satisfactory, and if the g $ differed no more than the ? ? , one might 

 well hesitate as to separating the two as distinct species. But the 

 6th ventral segment in manicata g is so utterly unlike that in adunca, 

 that it is really impossible to unite them. I find its peculiarities abso- 

 lutely constant in the numerous specimens which 1 have now- examined, 

 and have nothing to add to or subtract from the account I gave of 

 them in the Transactions (I. c). 



There can be little doubt that many specimens of manicata occur 

 in South-European collections under the name of adunca. It is curious 

 that in 1901 Dr. Schmiedeknecht and myself, while collecting in 

 Greece and the Ionian Islands, found no specimens of adunca at all ! 

 — all the Osmice of that group that we obtained were either manicata 

 or pallicornis, Friese (= difformis, Duck e, nee Perez). But as soon as 

 I crossed to South Italy, I found adunca everywhere, while manicata 

 only re-appeared at Tarauto, and pallicornis was nowhere to be found. 



Urunswick, Woking : 



February, 1902. 



