HENRY J. FRANKLIN. 



367 



Variation. — The male is probably usually entirely dark 

 dorsally beyond the second abdominal segment. The malar 

 space of the female is quite variable in length, as shown by 

 the table of measurements given below. In this table, com- 

 parison is made with the width of the eye, the measurements 

 having been made with a Filar micrometer. 



I have seen gradations between the typical females de- 

 scribed above and the following : 



Color Variant. — Queen and worker like the typical form, but with 

 the third and fourth dorsal abdominal segments partly or entirely 

 covered with ferruginous-red pile, thus closely approaching B. flavi- 

 frons in coloration. This color variant can always be readily sepa- 

 rated from flavifrons by means of its dark face and very broad and 

 definite black interalar band. In the queen of this color variant, the 

 dark triangle on the middle of the second dorsal abdominal segment 

 is sometimes nearly obliterated by yellow pile. 



Habitat. — The type specimens of this species were from 

 Sitka. All the specimens, which I have seen, were from 

 Alaska (Popoff Island, Kukak Bay, Nushagak River and 

 Kadiak — collected by Prof. Kincaid on the Harriman Alaskan 

 Expedition) where this species seems to be quite common. 

 Ashmead states that it is " also found in Siberia." 



B. flavifrons and B. centralis are apparently the closest 

 allies oi pieuralis. 



The pile, which, in the above description, I have called 

 yellow, is very light, approaching straw or hemp in color, 

 and with not a very strong tinge of yellow in most specimens. 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC. , XXXVIII. 



