T. D. A. COCKERELL. 201 



Paracolletes bicolor (Smith), var. a. 



A male from W. Australia {Dr. J. Burton C I el and ; British 

 Museum) is referred here as a variety, although the legs are 

 not at all red, except slightly at apex of hind tibiae, and on 

 anterior tibia in front. The vertex and mesothorax also are 

 strongly green. This agrees in size with plumosellus, but is 

 easily separated by the abundant black hair on vertex, scu- 

 tellum and hind part of mesothorax. The abdomen is nar- 

 rower and duller than in p/umosits, and dark purplish. The 

 flagellum is quite strongly crenulate beneath. The three 

 species, plumosus , plumoselhis and bicolor, are closely related, 

 but evidently distinct. 



Paracolletes flavomaeulatns Ckll. 



This species was described from a male. A female from 

 the Turner collection comes from Cairns, Queensland, " Kur., 

 9. 02." It is slightly over 10 mm. long, and agrees with 

 the male except for the usual sexual differences. It agrees 

 with Smith's description of P. cristatus, except that the hair 

 of the face is reddish-black, not griseous, the wings are uni- 

 formily dilute fuscous, and the large scopa of the hind tibiae 

 is entirely dark fuscous. The hind spur of hind tibia has 

 five long sharp teeth. Tongue colletiform as usual. 



It is probable that this will prove to be a subspecies or 

 variety of P. cristahis. 



These bees curiously resemble the black species of Pro- 

 sopis with yellow scutellum and postscutellum common in 

 Australia. The yellow dorsal patch in the Prosopis is tegu- 

 mentary, in the Paracolletes due to hair, but the superficial 

 effect is the same. To my astonishment I find also an 

 Halictus with the same coloration (the patch due to hair), 

 so similar to Paracolletes flavomaculatus that I had no doubt 

 of its being a close relative until I came to examine it in 

 detail. 



Halictus paraeolletiims sp. nov. 



9. Length about 8 mm., black, the scutellum, postscutellum and 

 tubercles covered with felt-like ochreous hair. This looks exactly like 

 a small edition of P. flavomaculatus, but differs as follows : eyes more 

 converging below ; clypeus with sparser, much weaker punctures ; 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC, XXXVI. (26) AUGUST, 1910. 



