from the State of Vera Cruz. 289 



front, otherwise dull and very closely punctui-ed, seen from the 

 side appearing hardly so laro:e as the head seen from in front. 

 Tegula; piceous, shining. Wings large for the size of the body; 

 anterior wings 5 millim. long, strongly tinged with reddish 

 yellow, except the portion beyond the cells, which is greyish, 

 the apico-costal margin with a dark grey cloud which extends 

 into marginal cell. Nervures ferruginous; marginal cell 

 broad and rounded at tip, second subraarginal very long. 

 Legs shining black, rather slender, very sparsely pubescent ; 

 the hairs pale ; the hind legs not more pubescent than the 

 others. Inner sides of basal joints of tarsi with dense shining 

 i-eddish-brown hairs. Abdomen broad and very short, punc- 

 tured, the first two segments above black, without light hairs, 

 except the hind margin of second segment, which has a 

 narrow fulvous hair-band. Remaining segments covered 

 with appressed fulvo-ochraceous pubescence, that on the third 

 sparse enough to show up the marginal band in contrast. 

 Apex with a broad shallow emargination. Ventral scopa 

 consisting simply of three narrow bands of short fulvo- 

 ochraceous pubescence, hardly fitted to carry pollen, though 

 there is a very little pollen attached to the under surface of 

 the abdomen. Apex with dense pubescence beneath as 

 above. 



San Rafael, March 8, on Bidens. 



A singular little species, very near to M. pilosa, Smith, 

 from the Amazons, but differing in colour of tegulse and of 

 pubescence of abdomen beneath. 



(7) Melissodes pernigra, sp. n. 



(^ . Length 12^ millim. Shining, deep black, the pubes- 

 cence all black, except that on cheeks and pleura beneath it 

 is slightly pallid (dark greyish brown, nearly black), and on 

 inner side of basal joint of all the tarsi it is shining dark 

 rufous. Face about square. Clypeus prominent, arched, 

 wholly dark, its anterior edge shining brownish, its surface 

 microscopically tessellate and beset with close shallow punc- 

 tures — one might almost say malleate. Mandibles wdiolly 

 dark. Antennae long, wholly black, reaching to base of 

 second abdominal segment ; scape short and swollen 5 first 

 joint of flagellum one fourth longer than second. Pubescence 

 of thorax dense but short. Tegulse black. Wings smoky, 

 nervures black. Short joints of tarsi brown. Abdomen 

 naked above, except base of first segment, which has black 

 pubescence ; rather closely punctured j apical third of first 



