272 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



ridged; legs black, with quite abundant greyish-white hair, that on 

 tarsi beneath yellowish, the basal joint of hind tarsi with a conspicuous 

 little orange brush at its apex ; hind spur with three strong teeth ; 

 tegulae shining piceous, more rufous behind ; wings clear ; stigma and 

 nervures fuscous ; stigma very large ; basal nervure very strongly 

 bent, falling a rather long distance short of t. m. ; first r. n. meeting 

 second t. c. ; second r. n. and third t. c. subobsolete ; abdomen shining, 

 almost free from hair above except apical segment, which is very hairy ; 

 no hair-bands or patches. 



$ . Length scarcely over 5 mm., more slender ; abdomen darker, 

 little metallic ; thorax greener, but vertex dark blue ; clypeus without 

 yellow or white ; antennae coloured as in female. 



2 , var. a. Mesothorax and scutellum entirely Prussian-green. 



Hob. Queensland (Gilbert Turner, Seaf. 1. 90 ; 440 and 439). 

 Both sexes, and the two forms of the female, were evidently taken 

 at the same time and place. 



Halictus murrayi, n. sp. 



2 . Length about 5 mm. ; head and thorax dark blue, granular, 

 and little shining ; clypens largely purplish ; anterior part of meso- 

 thorax rather shiny, with blue-green tints ; legs and abdomen piceous 

 or brown-black ; pubescence white, short and not dense, not forming 

 bauds or patches on the abdomen ; apical part of mandibles reddish ; 

 antennae black as far as third joint (the rest broken off); head broad; 

 area of metathorax with strong ridges, the intervals wrinkled ; tegulae 

 small, reddish ; wings clear, faintly dusky apically, nervures and stigma 

 very dark brown ; stigma very large ; b. n. falling a long way short of 

 t. m. ; first r. n. meeting second t. c, but a little on the outer side ; 

 second r. n. and third t. c. very weak ; abdomen with much white hail- 

 beneath. 



Hab. Adelaide River (J. J. Walker, 5138). Structurally 

 allied to H. urbanus baudinensis, but that has the tegulae, tibiae, 

 and tarsi clear red, which is not at all the case in murrayi. 

 There is also some resemblance to H. inclinans, Sm., and H. 

 limatus, Sm. 



The following series of species has the thorax black, not 

 metallic* : — 



All the tibiae and tarsi clear ferruginous ; hind mar- 

 gins of abdominal segments more or less pallid or 



reddish 1. 



Not so ; legs dark, and abdomen without colour-bands 2. 



1. Larger, abdomen with broad reddish bands (Melbourne) 



bicingulatus, Sm., 2 • 

 Smaller, abdomen with obscure bands (Adelaide) . oxleyi, Ckll. 



::: While on black Halichis, I will take the opportunity of stating that 

 Lucasius, Dours, the name of a subgenus of these bees found in Europe, is a 

 homonym, and may be altered to Lucasicllus. The first use of the name 

 Lucasius was in Crustacea (1859). 



