276 [December, 



B. Species with the facial angles occupied by a few weak liair-like bristles, no one 

 pair larger than the others. 



T. Basal antennal joints yellow, abdomen without spots germari, Mg. 



II- -> ,, „ black, or at most with a little yellow between the 

 2nd and 3rd joints, abdomen distinctly spotted punctatum, Mg. 



Sphecapnta conicn, teafe Brauer. should have bare cheeks ; all 

 ours I believe have some bristle-like hairs on the cheeks, and. there- 

 fore, also teste Brauer, would work out to Arrhenopus piliqena, Roud. : 

 Mr. Verrall T know inclines to believe the names synotiymous, and 

 that the presence or absence of the hairs is not of specific import- 

 ance. The species is the smallest of the lot and is paler and greyer 

 and unmistakeable at a glance : it seems specially associated with 

 Oxyhelus tinif/lumis, F. 



The two Miltogrammas are very closely allied ; but punctatum, 

 especially when looked at from in front always has distinct spots on 

 the hind margins of the segments, while germari, which has none, on 

 the other hand shows marked tessellations, or alternations of light 

 and dark reflections: germari too has distinctly yellow ba^al antennal 

 joints and in the male has simple fore tarsi, whereas, pitnctatum has 

 some strongly developed hook-like hairs which look like long claws, 

 and which probably serve instead of the true claws which are very 

 small. M. piinctatum seems most common round the buri-ows of bees 

 of the genus Colletes. 



Sett/lia grisea {teste Brauer again) should have scattered hairs 

 on the cheeks; that is to say the genus {Metopodia, Brauer calls it), 

 is so characterised ; but I carefully examined all Mr. llainurs seven 

 specimens for these hairs and even under the microscope could only 

 think I saw a few ; my one specimen on the other hand shows a 

 number of distinct but pale down-like hairs, by no means answering 

 to (the description " scattered " ; moreover, none of the descriptions 

 published of grisea, Mg., mention the, as I think, characteristic, 

 abdominal markings, which, however, are certainly variable : the most 

 conspicuous feature is a dark central line which is broken up into a 

 pair of long spots on each segment, these spots not always reaching 

 the fore margin of the segments ; then there is usually another spot 

 on the hind margin of each segment at each side, and these are 

 occasionally lengthened nearly to the fore margins. The whole 

 insect is yellower in appearance than either of its allies, its frontal 

 streak not much yellower than the rest of the face. It is smaller on 

 the average than M. punctnlum. but the largest specimens are as big 



