new Species of Diploptera. 41 



Hub. Tajura, Straits of Bab-el-Maudeb ; 1 ? . 



All the other described species of this genus are from 

 Australia. 



This insect is rendered very conspicuous by the denseness 

 of the pubescence, which gives it the appearance of being 

 covered with a bloom, as on grapes, when looked at from a 

 little distance. 



Eumenes, Fabr. 



Eumenes assamensis, sp. n. 



? . Black ; a spot between antennae, prouotum in front, 



apex of tegulse, postscutellum, petiole at the apex, a narrow 



band on apical margin of second abdominal segment, a small 



spot on each side of it, a few marks on legs, dull brick-red. 



Wings fusco-hyaline, costa and radial cell dark fuscous. 



Clypeus broadened from the base, greatest width about 

 half as long as length, produced and narrowed towards apex, 

 convex, a slight emargination at apex. Pronotum narrow 

 and rounded anteriorly, median segment rounded posteriorlv; 

 petiole of abdomen as long as thorax, of uniform width, very 

 slender at the base, depressed along the dorsal surface ; 

 second abdominal segment arched when viewed laterally. 

 The whole insect coarsely punctured, with the exception of 

 abdominal segments 3-6. 



Clypeus covered with a dense silvery pile ; vertex of head, 

 the thorax, and abdomen more sparsely covered. 



Length 12 mm. 



Bab. Shi Hong, Assam (R. E. Turner); 2 ? , 4 <$. 



£ . Rather smaller, the last joint of antennae bent back on 

 penultimate joint. 



Length 10 mm. 



Very nearly allied to E. punctata, Sauss., described from 

 China, a species occuring also in Sikkim and Burma, in 

 which the markings are yellow. Mr. Turner, who collected 

 for some months in the neighbourhood of Shillong, tells me 

 that the brick-red markings are a characteristic feature of 

 the insect fauna in that region. In addition to the species 

 here described, he captured specimens of an Odynerus and of 

 the fossorial genera Cerceris and Crabro, of Coelioxys among 

 the Apidao, also specimens of a saw-fly. Had not living 

 individuals been observed, it might have been surmised that 

 a damp cyanide bottle had caused a discoloration. 



Eumenes nicobarica, sp. n. 

 r? . Black ; clypeus, sinus of the eyes, pronotum in front, 

 disk of mesonotum with two short lines running longitu- 



