ART. 1 AMERICAN WASPS OF THE GENUS SCELIPHRON PORTER 15 



rest of mesopleural region shining, black; whole mesopleural and 

 mesosternal region hairy, punctate, but not striate, Metathorax 

 smooth, or at most only very weakly and sparsely punctate; shining 

 black, except the metanotum, which has a linear transverse spot of 

 yellow; metathorax very definitely marked off above from the 

 propodeum. 



Propodeum: Shining black, hairy, not noticeably punctate, but 

 quite strongly striate; with six spots of yellow — one on each side 

 anterior to and extending backward below the spiracles, one on each 

 side of the dorsum, and two at the end above the base of the petiole. 



Abdomen: Petiole black, with a narrow yellow line on ventral 

 surface; almost entirely smooth; first dorsal segment with a yellow 

 area, which is larger at the sides, sometimes almost entirely yellow ; 

 rest of abdomen black, smooth, and no more 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 posteriorly and on outside, often with a yellow spot on 

 anterior surface; femora with a small area of black basally, re- 

 mainder yellow; tibiae yellow; tarsi yellow, the outer segments be- 

 coming fuscous. Hind legs: Coxae black with a subquadrate spot 

 of yellow behind and often another spot on opposite side, the two 

 often meeting; trochanters black to fuscous, with sometimes an in- 

 definite yellowish area; femora black to fuscous with a narrow line 

 of yellow outside ; tibiae fuscous, yellow below distally ; tarsi fuscous. 

 Coxae and trochanters very sparsely hairy; surface of legs more or 

 less sericeous, that of tibiae and tarei especially so; spines fuscous 

 to ferruginous; tarsal claws fuscous, without a tooth. 



Wings: Transparent with a yellowish to fuscous tinge; veins 

 fusco-ferreginous ; wings often with a slight violet reflection. 



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

 shorter and less acute ; teeth of clypeus pointed, not broadly rounded. 

 One otherwise typical male with the middle pair of spots on the 

 propodeum missing was noted. 



Genitalia: Tips of uncus not much curved; blunt, not pointed. 

 Sagittae, volsellae, and claspers somewhat similar to those of 

 caevientarium (pi. 4, figs. 19 and 20). 



Length. — Female, 20 mm. to 24 mm. ; male, 17 mm. to 21 mm. 



Hahitat. — Mexico, Central Insular, and South America. Cameron 

 reports it as far north as Atoyac, Vera Cruz. The only records from 

 Insular America are from Montserrat and St. Vincent. I have speci- 

 mens from Para and Obidos, Brazil, and from Peru. How much 

 farther south the range of this species extends I can not say. 



Types. — The location of the types of this species is unknown. 



