TEXAN HYMENOPTERA. 247 



medially by a slender ferruginous line; venter ferruginous more or less varied 

 with yellowish ; sometimes the yellowish markings on second and following 

 segments are more or less obscure. Length .85 inch. 



%. — Closely resembles 9; the face flat as usual, whitish-yellow, this color 

 extending above antennae and on line with emargination of eyes; clypeus flat; 

 prothorax sometimes broadly yellowish laterally; mesothorax occasionally 

 with two short discal yellow lines; the markings of abdomen vary consider- 

 ably, being sometimes very distinct, with the apical bands broad and lemon- 

 yellow and the lateral spots round and whitish, sometimes the apical bauds are 

 narrow and the lateral spots wanting except on second segment, sometimes the 

 first segment has no lateral spot. Length .85 inch. 



Eight specimens. (Belfrage; Boll; Heiligbrodt.) 



I'olistes bellicosiis, n. sp. 



% 9- — Uniformly dull ferruginous, subsericeous ; 9 clypeus, sides of face, 

 transverse line above antennae, posterior orbits broader beneath and mandibles, 

 yellow, clypeus subconvex, and sparsely punctured; % clypeus, face as far up 

 as and on a line with emargination of eyes, narrow posterior orbits broader 

 beneath, and mandibles yellow, clypeus flat; antennae of male long, pale be- 

 neath, dark above, scape yellowish beneath; margins of prothorax, basal mar- 

 gin of scutellum, postscutellum, two longitudinal lines on disk of metathorax, 

 sometimes a lateral spot, spot beneath tegulse, space between four anterior 

 coxae in % , tegulse, line on outer side of all the coxae of 9 » coxae beneath of % , 

 knees and four anterior tibife and tarsi beneath of 9 and narrow apical mar- 

 gin of abdominal segments, more or less sinuate anteriorly and sometimes a 

 spot on each side of first and second segments, all lemon-yellow; mesothorax 

 generally with a fine central longitudinal black line; metathorax finely trans- 

 versely wrinkled; wings fuscous, or fusco-hyaline, yellowish along costa, sub- 

 violaceous. Length .75 inch. 



Seven specimens. (Belfrage.) Smaller, less robust and darker in 

 color than texana^ to which it is closely allied. The ornamentation of 

 the abdomen is, however, very different. 



Polistes variattis, n. sp. 



9- — strongly sericeous, black; a transverse, subangular line above an- 

 tennae, posterior orbits, broader beneath, and mandibles except tips, yellow ; 

 clypeus subconvex, sparsely punctured, ferruginous, more or less broadly yel- 

 low at apex; cheeks sometimes ferruginous; antennae ferruginous, black above; 

 prothorax ferruginous, black on extreme lateral corner and narrowly margined 

 anteriorly and posteriorly with yellow; mesothorax and pleura, except yellow 

 spot beneath tegulae, entirely black; scutellum and postscutellum ferruginous, 

 margined at base with yellow; metathorax black, with four longitudinal yel- 

 low stripes, the lateral one sometimes slightly undulate, disk longitudinally 

 sulcate and finely transversely wrinkled; tegulae fulvous, margined with yel- 

 low; wings fusco-hyaline, darker and yellowish along costa; legs ferruginous, 

 coxae black, with yellow stripe on outside, knees, anterior femora and all the 

 tibiae and tarsi beneath, more or less yellow, tips of posterior tibiae blackish 

 within; abdomen strongly sericeous, fuscous or black, varied with dull ferru- 

 ginous especially on second segment, apical margin of each segment, dilated 



