NO. 1806. BEES IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. l.—COCKERELL. 649 



under side; tegulse shining dusky red; wings dusky at apex; h. n. 

 meeting t. m.; legs dark reddish-brown, with white hair; sides and 

 apex of abdomen with white hair. Closely resembles N. grindelisR 

 differing by the smaller size and slightly in coloration. The abdomen 

 may have a slight dusky suffusion. In both species there is a semi- 

 circular finely white-tomentose area at the end of the abdomen. 



Male. — Length about 4^ mm.; resembling N. grindelix, but much 

 smaller, with the abdomen variably suffused with reddish at the 

 apices of the first two segments. 



Habitat. — Victoria, Texas, at flowers of Helenium tenuifolium'Nuttall, 

 September 26, 1904 (J. C. Crawford). Four males and three females 

 are before me, and as the small size is uniform, I think the species 

 must be considered distinct. Mr. S. A. Rohwer had already recog- 

 nized it as new. There is some question whether Melanomada should 

 not stand as a distinct genus. Mr. J. C. Crawford examined the 

 mouth-parts of N. grindelise, and found that the maxillary palpi had 

 joints 3 to 5 subequal, 6 longer; joint 2 about equal to 3 + 4; joint 1 

 shortest. He pointed out that the development of joint 2 was 

 characteristic. 



Type.—Csit. No. 13431, U.S.N.M. 



There is a rather close resemblance between Melanomada and 

 Viereckella. Doctor Graenicher has sent me both sexes of VierecJcella 

 pilosula (Nomada pilosula Cresson) from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 

 where it flies in July and August. Both sexes have the abdomen 

 black, resembling the male of Melanomada. The males are separable 

 by several good characters, as follows: 



Face broad, inner orbits parallel; venation ordinary for Nomada, second s. m. receiving 

 first r. n. well before end, third s. m. narrow above; legs ordinary; apical plate 

 of abdomen broad, rounded, broadest at base Melanomada. 



Inner orbits strongly converging above, so that the lateral ocelli are distant from eyes 

 less than their own diameter; second s. m. receiving first r. n. very near end, third 

 s. m. very broad above; middle and hind femora incrassate; apical plate of abdomen 

 spoon-like, narrower toward base Viereckella. 



The type of N. Jieleniella is a female. 



NOMADA WHEELERI ENGELMANNI^, new subspecies. 



Female. — Length 7^ to 9 mm,, agreeing with the description of 

 N. wheeleri except as follows: Light markings cream-color; red line 

 along anterior orbits interrupted in frontal region; mesothorax with 

 a broad black band, and the red in front deeply emarginate on each 

 side; light color of scutellum narrowed but not divided in middle; 

 pleura red, broadly margined, except below, with black, and with 

 no yellow spot; wings more dusky, the broad apical margin dark; 

 first abdominal segment with the basal half black; second and third 

 segments with much black at base, band on second narrowly or 

 broadly interrupted, but always extremely broad laterally. 



