December 1S97.] 



PSl'CHE. 



149 



ica, but they seem to be of far more 

 abundant occurrence in the correspond- 

 ing temperate portions of North Amer- 

 ica. Cistogaster has been recorded 

 from Colorado, but probably not from 

 a great elevation. 



I was, therefore, much surprised 

 when, in August, 1894, Professor Cock- 

 erell showed me a specimen of Gym- 

 nosoma which he had just taken at Lag 

 Cruces. Several other specimens have 

 been taken in the Mesilla Valley at 

 'ntervals since ; and I secured one in 

 the Sacramento Mts., during a week's 

 collecting there in October, 1S96. The 

 Mesilla Valle}' specimens are noticed in 

 detail below. At best the genus is of 

 rare or infrequent occurrence in Xew 

 Mexico. 



9. GytiDiosoina fiiliginosa Desv. 

 Three (J s and three 9 s. Las Cruces. 

 One 9 (Ckll.), August 24, on flowers of 

 Solidago canadensis. One 9 (^^'oo- 

 ton) , October 4, on flowers of Bigelovia 

 ivrightii. One V (Ckll.), March 23, 

 and one $ (Ckll.) March 26, both on 

 floweis of Prnniis domesticits (plum). 

 One $ (Ckll.), Sept. 12, on flowers of 

 Bigelovia ivriglitii. One $ (C. 

 Rhodes) , Sept. 



The Sept. 12 ^^ measures only 5^ 

 mm., being considerably smaller than 

 the others, and resembles somewhat G. 

 Jiliola Lw., which was orighially de- 

 scribed from Texas. I am convinced, 

 however, that it is only a small speci- 

 men of fiiliginosa. Loew defined 

 Jiliola as distinguished by its shorter 

 antennae, and it probably must be con- 

 sidered only as a variety oi fiiliginosa. 



The present specimen is considerably 

 larger than Loew's measurement, which 

 is z lines. The abdominal spots are 

 very small. 



Of the other normal-sized specimens, 

 none has the abdominal spots at all 

 enlarged. In one of the 9 s, these 

 spots are very small indeed, \vhile in 

 another they are suljobsolete. The 9 s 

 measure 6i to 7 mm.; the (^ s, 6i to 

 65 mm. 



Both sexes of this species have the 

 humeri and pleurae silvery pollinose- 

 The scutellum is silverv on apex, and 

 slightly so in middle at base. The 9 

 is distinguished by rest of thoracic 

 dorsum being shining black. I pointed 

 out the sexual differences, in the Proc. 

 Ent. Soc. Wash. (vol. II, iS9i,p. 141), 

 where I stated tliat the thoracic dorsum 

 of 9 is wholly black shining, but 

 neglected to add that the humeri are 

 silvery. 



The specimen above mentioned from 

 the Sacramento Mts. (a $ , Rio Tula- 

 rosa, Oct. 2, on flowers of Bigelovia 

 graveolens var. glabrata^ was taken at 

 an elevation of about 6200 ft. This is, 

 doubtless, the greatest elevation at 

 which any specimen of Gymnosoma 

 has ever been taken. The Sacramento 

 Mts. are very humid, far more so than 

 the Mesilla Valley, but at the same 

 time they are much higher. The other 

 specimens, taken at Las Cruces, are 

 from an elevation of about 3Sooft. The 

 difference is thus 2400 ft. 



OCYPTERIDAE. 

 10. Ocyptera euchenor Walk. A 



