398 TESPID.E. 



the tegulfe, the scutellum, a square spot at each lateral angle of the 

 postscutellum, the femora above and the tibise of the legs, trans- 

 verse broad bands on the apical margins of the lst-5th abdominal 

 segments above and beneath, and the whole of the 6th segment 

 above, dark red ; the 5 or G apical joints of the flagellum of the 

 antennse with a line of orange beneath ; wings fulvo-hyaline, 

 broadly fnscescent towards their apical margins. 



Var. The clypeus black on its basal half, the scape black with 

 a line of red anteriorly, the flagellum entirely black, only the 

 margins of the pronoti7m and broadly of the basal two abdominal 

 segments red, the scutellum and postscutellum entirely black ; the 

 legs black for the greater part, shaded with red on the femora 

 beneath and the base of the tibise above ; wings fusco-hyaline. 



Hah. Sikhim, up to 6000 feet. ^ . LenrjtJi 10-12 ; ^.rp. 

 24-30 mm. 



694. Polistes hebraeus. 



Vespa hehi-.Tea, Fahr. Mant. Ins. i, p. 292. 

 Polistes hebrsea, Fahr. St/st. Piez. p. 273. 

 Polistes macaensis, Fahr. Syst. Piez. p. 272. 

 Vespa undata, Oliv. Fncyl. Meth. vi, p. 684. 



Polistes hebrfeus, Sai/ss. Mon. Guep. Sac. p. 53 ; Smith, Cat. v, 

 p. 101. 



2 or ^ . Head, thorax, and abdomen smooth, opaque, sometimes 

 slightly shining ; mesonotum with two short, parallel, longitudinally 

 impressed lines on its posterior portion ; medial 

 groove on the median segment well-marked, 

 very broad in some specimens, the transverse 

 striations sometimes faint. From bright yellow 

 to fulvous brown. The bright yellow forms have 

 all the sutures on the head, thorax, aud abdomen 

 lined with black, a curved line on the vertex 

 behind the ocelli, a transverse streak on the 

 / f prothorax in front, a medial aud two shorter 

 ' side-streaks on the disc of the mesonotum, a 



khr "h""^^ transverse streak on the middle of the basal 

 abdominal segments, and fine sinuate lines on 

 the middle of the remaining segments black. The fulvous-brown 

 forms have a broad band between the eyes on the vertex black, 

 the disc of the mesonotum with one medial and two outer shorter 

 stripes fuscous or black ; the median segment black, with a spot of 

 yellow on the sides and two parallel yellow stripes down the 

 middle ; the basal abdominal segment black, with the apical margin 

 more or less broadly yellow ; tbe base of the 2nd segment black, 

 the black produced angularly back in the middle, and a transverse 

 sinuate black line on the middle of the segment, sometimes on the 

 3rd to the 5th segment also ; the legs have the apical four joints 

 of the tarsi always bright yellow. Wings in both forms ferruginous 

 or fulvo-hyaline." This species is exceedingly variable, but can be 

 recof^nized by the sinuate line, which is always 2^resent, at any 

 rate on the 2nd if not on the 3rd and following abdominal seg- 



