6 Psyche [February 



HYMENOPTERA COLLECTED NEAR BOSTON, MASS., 



WITH DESCRIPTION OF A VARIETY OF 



BOM BUS AFFINIS. 



By J. Bequaert, 

 American Museum of Natural History, New York City. 



While collecting Hymenoptera at Forest Hills, Mass., and other 

 localities in the vicinity of Boston, I have taken on two occasions 

 a bumble-bee, which from its aberrant coloration could not be 

 properly named with Franklin's "Bombidfe of the New World." 

 I have been permitted to examine similarly colored Bombus, taken 

 some years previous by Professor Wheeler at Forest Hills and by 

 Mr. J. E. Smith at Sherborn, Mass. It was finally recognized that 

 all these specimens belong to a striking color-variant of Bombus 

 affinis, which it is the purpose of this note to describe and name. 

 I have used this opportunity to present an account of the Bombidae 

 of the neighborhood of Boston and to record some other interesting 

 Hymenoptera of that region. 



I am greatly indebted to Prof. Wra. M. Wheeler, Messrs. N. 

 Banks, Wm. T. Davis, C. W. Johnson, E. J. Smith, C. Schaeffer, 

 and Dr. F. E. Lutz, who have kindly allowed me to examine mate- 

 rial in their possession or care and to use valuable information. 



Bombus aflfinis var. novae-angliae var. nov. 



Known in the worker and male phases, which are colored much 

 the same. One or more of the abdominal segments behind the 

 second are covered entirely or to a large extent with ferruginous 

 pile (in the brightest specimens very near Ridgway's vinaceous- 

 rufous). Coloration otherwise as in typical affinis; in most of the 

 specimens the usual reddish tinge of the yellow pile on the middle 

 portion of the second tergite is rather faint or faded, which, more- 

 over, is often the case with typical affinis too. 



The structural characters show no differences with those of typi- 

 cal affinis; this is especially true for the shape of the male genitalia, 

 which I have carefully compared with those of the typical form. 



The specimens examined do not differ in size from typical 

 affinis; total length of the worker: 12 to 14 mm.; of the male: 

 16 to 17 mm. 



