1903] FERNALD:— TWO NEW SPECIES OF SPHEX 203 



at the center bounded by a slight blunt projection on each side. At the sides of the cljpeus 

 are traces of a golden pubescence sometimes extending to the bases of the antennae. Frons 

 slightly punctured, less coarsely so than the clypeus, with scattered dark and yellowish 

 white hairs. Eyes about equidistant at vertex and clypeus. Mandibles long, two toothed, 

 base and teeth black, elsewhere dull ferruginous. Antennae black, third segment longest. 

 Cheeks narrow behind the eyes, with long pale hairs, particularly below. 



Thorax. Collar black, minutely punctured, with long dark and yellowish white hairs. 

 Scutellum more sparsely and faintly punctured, with a slight median depression ; its hairs 

 very short and not noticeable. Postscutellum very faintly punctured, rather more hairy 

 than the scutellum. Median segment finely, transversely aciculate, quite closely covered 

 at the sides and behind with long yellowish white hairs but with no trace of pubescence 

 except a small pale yellow spot on each side just above the petiole, not always present. 

 Petiole black, short, straight. 



Abdomen. Above, somewhat sericeous, particularly on the anterior segments, smooth 

 except the last two segments which are coarsely punctured, the punctures being more abun- 

 dant on the last. These two segments also bear short brownish hairs. Beneath, glistening, 

 with extremely minute punctures and here and there a larger one anteriorly. These become 

 more abundant posteriorly and are quite numerous on the last two segments. This distribu- 

 tion of the punctures coincides with that of the short brown hairs also present. 



Wings. Uniformly fuscous with blue or violet reflection. Tegulae dull ferruginous, 

 more or less mingled with black. 



. Legs. Coxae, trochanters, and greater portion of femora black. Outer ends of femora, 

 the tibiae, and the tarsi except the last segment, pale ferruginous. Last tarsal segment and 

 claws much darker or nearly black. Spines yellow ferruginous. 



Length, 22-25 mm. 



Described from six female specimens : one from the U. S. national museum, 

 without locality ; one from the American entomological society, collected in Ga. ; 

 three collected at Indian Head, Md., Aug. 23, 1902, on Monarda punctata L., by 

 Mr. J. C. Bridwell for whom I take pleasure in naming the species; and one from 

 Md. now in the collection of the Massachusetts agricultural college. I have also 

 seen ten other specimens from the same localities, with one exception which was 

 collected June 20, 1883 at New Orleans, La. 



The two species above described in many ways resemble Sphex flavipes Sm. 

 and have in some cases been mistaken for it. Of ^. nudus only males are known 

 and these may be distinguished from males of S. flavipes by the differences of form 

 of the last dorsal abdominal segment (Figures 2 and 6) and by the wings of the 

 former being hyaline, while in the latter they are usually fuscous. Sphex bridtvelli 

 of which onl}' females are known, may be distinguished from females of S. flavipes 

 by the almost total absence of pubescence, giving the body a pronounced black 

 appearance, and by the presence in the hind wing of S. flavipes of a short vein 

 which leaves the cubital vein and enters the median cell just beyond the point 

 where the discoidal vein leaves the cubital vein. No such hook-like vein is present 



