190 AMERICAN HYMENOPTERA. 



P. caroliniis (Linn.)- 



Saussure, who examined the tyi>e of Linnaeus, in London, states 

 that the species which was originally put into the genus Vespa is a 

 true Polides, and is as long as V. crabro. His description is as 

 follows ; 



Front yellow. Thorax ferruginous, with three black longitudinal lines. Ab- 

 domen sessile, ferruginous: fore wings blackish, hind wings hyaline. 



Saussure further states that the species resembles P. bioolor, of 

 South America, more or less, but with two yellow lines on the thorax 

 and with the antennae brown. 



Hab. — Carolina. 



P. comancliuH Sauss. — Moderately stout; margin of the clypeus rounded, 

 not acute, dentate. Head ferruginous, vertex and middle of antennae black. 

 Thorax black, bordered in front with ferruginous. Abdomen golden-yellow, the 

 segments margined with yellow, base of the first black. 



Hab. — New Mexico. 



General Characters of the Genus Polybia. 



The sj^ecies of this genus have the wings folded longitudinally 

 when at rest, the prothorax prolonged backward to the base of the 

 wings, and two spurs at the end of the middle tibiae. They closely 

 resemble Polistes in the venation of the wings and in the form of 

 the thorax, but differ greatly in the form of the abdomen. The first 

 segment is slim and petiolate, and about as long as the rest of the 

 abdomen, which is compressed and ovate. These insects are quite 

 small, not nearly as robust as any of the species of Polistes. 



Only two species of Polybia have thus far been found in the 

 United States — P. cubeiisis, in Florida, and P. fiavitarsis, in Cali- 

 fornia. Numerous other sj^ecies occur in Cuba and Mexico, and it 

 is possible that some of these may be found in our territory. 



Their nests are built on leaves of trees or in some sheltered place 

 and consist of but one layer of cells as in Polistes, but they have 

 one or more coverings to protect them from the weather. 



The species of Polybia vary greatly in coloration, much as in 

 Polistes. The two s}^ecies in the United States are easily separated, 

 fiavitarsis being comparatively large, about 18 mm. long, and marked 

 chiefly with light brown and yellow, occasionally with a little black, 

 while cubensis is relatively small, about 10-12 mm. and marked 

 chiefly with dark brown or black, with narrow, yellow borders. 



Polybia flavitarsis Sauss. 9- — Head as broad as long, orange-yellow; 

 eyes and space between the antennae and ocelli black ; antennae ferruginous, 



