NOTES ON AMERICAN BEES. 157 



Bombus fervidus, Fabr. — Three from Pasco, Wash., May 25th, 

 1896. (T. Kincaid ) 



^Psithyrus cevallice, n. sp. 



cf. Length 18-22 millim., black, with yellow and black pube- 

 scence. Antennas entirely black, about 10 millim. long, first two 

 joints of flagellum short and equal, each about two-thirds the length 

 of the third ; orbits parallel, facial quadrangle somewhat longer than 

 broad ; front and vertex quite densely punctured, but a shining im- 

 punctate area on each side of the ocelli, which are placed in a gentle 

 curve ; pubescence of head black, mixed with pale grey on the face, 

 especially on the clypeus ; thorax above with a broad black band 

 between the wings, all before this band is yellow, behind it is yellow 

 mixed with black ; pleura extremely densely punctured, with long 

 black hair more or less mixed with dull white ; wings fuliginous ; legs 

 black, anterior femora with black hair, middle femora with black hair 

 in front and long yellowish-white hair behind, hind femora with sordid 

 yellowish hair, short and black underneath at base ; tibia? and tarsi 

 with short black pubescence on the outer side, and pale reddish on the 

 inner ; first five segments of abdomen clothed with mustard-coloured 

 hair, sixth with black, apex with shining orange-ferruginous ; venter 

 with sparse short black hair, some pale along the margins of the seg- 

 ments ; claws very deeply cleft. 



Hob. East of Las Cruces, New Mexico, in the Larrea-zone, 

 Aug. 23rd, at flowers of Cevallia sinuata, two males taken, others 

 seen, by C. H. T. Townsend and the present writer. On Nov. 

 10th I took a specimen at Mesilla Park, N. M., at flowers of 

 Aster canescens var. viscosus ; this differs in having the meta- 

 thoracic pubescence almost all black, except a yellow tuft just 

 behind the wings, and the hair of the apex of the abdomen black. 



This is certainly a true Psithyrus, but it closely resembles the 

 so-called Apathus elatus, which is the male of Bombus fervidus. 



This is the only Psithyrus I have ever found in southern New 

 Mexico. P. variabilis (Cress.), described from Texas, extends 

 thence northward ; I have specimens of it from Stillwater, 

 Oklahoma, at flowers of Primus americana (coll. C. E. Regnier, 

 com. E. E. Bog ue), and Baldwin, Kansas [J. C. Bridwell). I 

 have a single small male of variabilis from Tuerto Mountain, 

 near Santa Fe, New Mexico, at an altitude of 8200 ft., Aug. 7th, 

 at flowers of Senecio (Ckll. 4313) ; this has yellow hair on the 

 anterior part of the pleura, black on the hinder part, and a patch 

 of yellow hair on the front. 



Melissodes obliqua, Say. — Mesilla, N. M., July, 1898 ; many 

 specimens. (C. M. Barber.) 



Melissodes crenulaticornis, Ckll. — What I take to be the female 

 of this species was found by Mr. C. M. Barber at the Forks of 

 Euidoso Creek, N. M., July 30th, 1898. In my table of N. M. 

 Melissodes (female) it runs at once to M. gilensis ; but it differs 



