ART. 1 AMERICAN WASPS OF THE GENUS SCEUPHRON PORTER 13 



than slightly sericeous except the last dorsal and ventral segments, 

 which are sparsely hairy and punctate. 



Legs: Anterior four: Coxae black; trochanters black with a yellow 

 apical rim behind ; femora black proximally, yellow distally ; tibiae 

 yellow; tarsi yellow at base, the outer segments becoming fuscous. 

 Hind legs: Almost entirely black; trochanters with a yellow apical 

 rim on inner side, and sometimes with a small yellow spot on 

 outside ; tibiae with an inconspicuous yellow streak on lower surface 

 basally; tarsi usually black, but sometimes fuscous with the first 

 segment or two ferruginous below. Coxae and trochanters of all 

 legs sparsely hairy; entire surface of legs more or less sericeous; 

 tarsal claws fuscous, with a very minute tooth near the middle on 

 the inner surface ; spines on legs varying from yellow to fuscous. 



Wings: Transparent with a yellowish tinge, often with a slight 

 violet or purple reflection ; outer margins slightly infuscated ; larger 

 veins ferruginous to fuscous. 



Male. — Differs from female as follows : Slightly smaller ; abdomen 

 shorter and less acute; teeth of clypeus much more pointed and 

 elongate than those of the female, and farther apart; these teeth are 

 distinct in form from those of any other American species of this 

 genus; pubescence on face silvery to golden; sometimes a yellow to 

 brown spot is present on the outside of the posterior trochanters. 

 One male from Chile lacks the anterior yellow spots on the propo- 

 deum, and the usually large area of yellow at the posterior end of 

 the propodeum is reduced to three small spots, which suggests the 

 possibility of a variation in this species similar to that occuring 

 with caeriientarium\ in other males the yellow area at the end of 

 the propodeum extends over into the dorsal area. 



Genitalia : Similar to those of asdnvU-e. 



Length. — Female, 22 mm. to 28 mm. ; male, 18 mm. to 23 mm. 



Habitat. — Kohl records this species from numerous localities from 

 Tampico, Mexico, southward through Central and South America, 

 and makes one doubtful reference to a record from it from Cuba by 

 De Saussure, which is the onlj^ record which he has from tlie West 

 Indies. The writer has seen specimens from Para, Brazil, Sapucay, 

 Paraguay, Bahia Blanca, Argentina, and from " Chile." 



The probable proper applications of the names ftgulum and a^si- 

 mile and the difficulty in separating the two species have already 

 been touched upon. If the type of jlgulum were available, it is 

 possible that it might be found to be the same form as that here 

 called assimile, in which case the latter name would have to be 

 dropped in favor of figulu7n, and the form here called figulum would 

 then be called vindeoo. It is, however, equally possible that Dahlbom 

 used these names as they are used in this paper, and in the absence 



