Species of Fossorial Hymenoptera from Africa. 738 



Myzine ruffrons, Fabr. 

 Larra ritfifrons, Fabr., Ent. Syst., II, p. 222 (1793), ?. 



Myzine (Meira) (sic ! ) violaceipennis, Cam., Rec. Albany 



Mus., I, p. 301 (1904), ?. 

 Myzine (Meira) (sic ! ) erythrostoinus, Cam., Ann. Transv. 



Mus., II, p. 117 (1910), $. 



(^ . Niger, albopilosus ; mandibulis basi, clypeo, pronoto margi- 

 nibus, segmentis ventralibus 2-6 fasciis apicalibus late emarginatis, 

 dorsalibus 1-6 fasciis apicalibus bisinuatis,- septimo macula magna 

 utrinque, femoribus apice, tibiis tarsisque flavis ; alis hyalinis, venis 

 nigris, stigmate testaceo. 



Long. 19-21 mm. 



(J. Clypeus narrowly and shallowly emarginate at the apex. 

 Antennae shorter than the head, thorax and median segment com- 

 bined, of even thickness throughout. Eyes widely and not very 

 deeply emarginate. The whole insect closely and not very finely 

 punctured. Pronotum shorter than the mesonotum, the anterior 

 margin straight. First dorsal segment more than twice as broad as 

 long, rounded anteriorly, not globular : the other segments slightly 

 constricted at the base, the yellow apical bands less strongly 

 punctured than the base. Incision of the seventh dorsal segment 

 triangular, about as deep as the breadth at the apex. Second and 

 third abscissae of the radius about equal in length, the fourth much 

 longer ; position of the second recurrent nervure rather variable, 

 sometimes almost interstitial with the second transverse cubital 

 nervure, sometimes received as far as one-quarter from the base of 

 the third cubital cell. 



Hah. S. Africa, as far north as Salisbury. 



The males in tiie British Museum are from Johannes- 

 burg and Salisbury. They are very near M. ahdominalis, 

 Guer. (= continua, Cam.), but the incision of the apical 

 segment is a little deeper and the anterior margin of the 

 pronotum is straight. 



Although the sexes have not been taken in copula, I 

 think there can be little doubt that they belong to one 

 species. In females from Willowmore the usual red 

 colour of the head is considerably obscured. In 3f. 

 abdominalis, Guer., ^, the colour of the bead varies from 

 black to ferruginous red. 



