646 PROCEEDINOS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. 39. 



s. m. not nearly so broad as third, receiving first r. n. beyond the 

 middle; legs red, the femora wholly without black; abdomen bright 

 ferruginous, nearly the basal half of first segment black, the margin 

 of the black straight; first segment wholly without yellow; second 

 with a very large triangular lemon-yellow mark on each side, the dis- 

 tance between the yellow patches less than the length of one; third 

 segment without yellow; fourth with an interrupted yellow band; 

 fifth with a very large quadrate yellow patch, about twice as broad 

 as long ; apical pubescent lunule narrow (anteroposteriorly) ; pygidial 

 plate broad; apical hair pale brown; tliird and fourth ventral seg- 

 ments each with a broad yellow band. Japan (Koebele) ; =type. 



Female (var. a.). — Third antennae joint shorter; middle of face 

 black, with a red supraclypeal spot; metathorax with more black; 

 &. n. going some distance basad of t. m.; second s. m. broader, receiv- 

 ing first r. n. at middle; femora with a little black at extreme base; 

 band on fourth abdominal segment entire ; no yellow on underside 

 of abdomen. Japan. "23.4" on the label may mean that it was 

 taken on April 23. This is very possibly a distinct species. 



Male. — Agrees in venation with the type female. Head and 

 thorax black; broad lower margin of clypeus, mandibles except tips, 

 labrum, and very narrow lateral face-marks ending in a point about 

 level of antennae, all yellow; scape stout, black behind, red in front, 

 with a yellow patch on inner (mesad) side; flagellum black above, 

 ferruginous beneath; third antennal joint much shorter than fourth; 

 posterior half of tubercles, and two small spots on scutellum, red; 

 middle femora with a black band behind, hind femora largely black; 

 black of first abdominal segment broadly lobed in middle, and a small 

 black spot on each side; second segment with a broad black basal 

 triangle, projecting between the yellow marks; third and fourth with 

 about the basal half black; third with a yellow band below the black 

 on each side; fourth with a narrow interrupted yellow band; fifth 

 with a patch; apical plate truncate, not notched; venter with large 

 yellow markings. Japan, No. 163. 



Type.— Cut. No. 13429, U.S.N.M. 



I first compared this insect with the Old World Nomadse, in my 

 collection, and concluded that it was very close to N. ruficornis 

 (Linnaeus). I then ran it in Schmiedeknecht's tables of European 

 Nomada, and found that the male ran directly to ruficornis; the female 

 less certainly, but still better there than anywhere else. It is well 

 known that N. ruficornis is exceedingly polymorphic, and while the 

 Japanese insect may be specifically distinct, and perhaps the var. a 

 is another species, it seems best to treat the scanty material at present 

 available as a subspecies only. On the whole, it evidently comes 

 nearest to the northern variety glabella Thomson. The male is very 

 like the American N. illinoensis Robertson. 



