28 NEOTROPICAL BEES 



Thygater bifasciata buccosa (Vachal) 



Female. Carcarana, Argentina (Bruner, 20). The thorax 

 above has bright fox red hair. The abdomen has three broad 

 shining golden bands; these are due to white tomentum at bases 

 of segments three to five, overlapped by the broad hyaline mar- 

 gins of segments two to four, on which are appressed golden hairs. 

 The mesopleurum is black haired. The third joint of maxillary 

 palpus is a little larger than second. In this species the hair of 

 the thorax above varies from fuscous (typical bifasciata Smith) 

 to fuscous in front and fulvous behind (var. nigricoUis \^achal) 

 or entirely fulvous (var. buccosa Vachal). The variety chryso- 

 phora (Holmberg) is like bifasciata, but has three bands on the 

 domen instead of two. 

 Thygater bruneri new species 



Female. Length, 12 mm., anterior wing, 9.5; black, robust, the mandibles 

 reddish beyond base, and with a broad orange stripe on apical part; lal^rum 

 black; maxillarj' palpi three-jointed, the last two joints about ecjual in length; 

 clypeus strongly punctured, not at all keeled; facial quadrangle broader than 

 long; face and region of antennae with dull white hair, the narrow cheeks also 

 with white hair, but occiput, vertex and sides of front with black hair; .flagel- 

 lum bright ferruginous beneath, the apical margins of joints blackened above; 

 third antenna] joint 610 microns long; hair of thorax*above largely bright fox- 

 red, but a narrow black fringe anteriorlj^, posterior disc of mesothorax and 

 anterior half of scutellum with Vjlack hair; mesopleura with ])lack hair, but 

 sides of metathorax with pale fulvous; tegulae clear rufotestaceous; wings 

 dusky; second submarginal cell oblique, receiving first recurrent nervure about 

 half-way between middle and end; third submarginal very abruptlj' angled on 

 outer side; legs black, the small joints of tarsi dull ferruginous; anterior and 

 middle legs with mainly black hair, but some white hair on outer side of base 

 of anterior tibiae, hair on inner side of anterior tibiae and tarsi red, middle 

 basitarsi with pale hair basally in front; hind tibiae and basitarsi with long 

 plumose white scopa, but basitarsi with black hair at apex and on inner side; 

 abdomen T;\-ith hind margin of first segment very narrowly pallid, but the other 

 segments dark to apex; first segment ■with loose fulvous hair, lacking on apical 

 part; second with pale fulvous appressed hair, lacking on apical margin, and 

 divided by a transverse narrow median hairless band; third and fourth seg- 

 ments each with a verj' broad band of pale fulvous tomentum, not covering 

 margin on third; apex and fifth segment with black hair. 



Carcarana, Argentina (Bruner 13). Known bj^ the dark 

 margins of abdominal segments from T. bifasciata of the same 

 region. According to Bertoni and Schrottky, Melissodes nigro- 

 aenea Smith sometimes has three-jointed maxillary palpi, and a 



