70 On new or doubtful Species of the Genus Ammophila. 



9. Ammophila producticollis , sp. n. 



Bicolor, capite et thorace nigris ; abdomine rufo, basi baud nigro- 

 lineata, segmentis vero 2 vel 3 apicalibus infuscatis. Anteimarum 

 articulus 1 (totus) et 2 (partim), mandibulse praeter apices iiigros, 

 labruru clypeique margo latus, alarum hyalinarum tegulse cum 

 stigmate et magna parte nervorum pallida aurantiaco-rufa. Pedes 

 rufi, posticorum basibus superne nonnihil infuscatis. Caput 

 thoraxque deusissime splendideque argenteo-pubeseentia vel 

 tomentosa ; temporum prosterni femorumque anticorum ( 5 ) 

 fimbriee longae et sequabiles. 



Pronotum longissimum, evidenter baud latius quam longius. 

 (S . Pro- et mesonotum antice transversim, scutellum longitu- 

 dinaliter, propodeum oblique (fere longitudinaliter) strigosum. 

 Mesonotum antice lineia 3 impressis longis vel suturis divisura. 

 5 strigis (quantum video) nullis, sed mesonoto ut in mare liueis 

 impressis diviso atque etiam circa bas ita depresso ut psene trisul- 

 catum vel bicariuatum videatur. Clypeus apice in medio excise. 



Long. 17 mill. 



Biskra {Eaton). Male, 5 v. '97 ; female, 16 v. '94. 



The two sexes are very similar except in the sculpture of 

 the thorax ; this, as stated above, differs widely, and it is not 

 without some hesitation that I put the two together. They 

 were taken, liowever, in exactly the same locality (near the 

 Fontaine Chaude) and in the same month (May). 



Tlie male cannot be dolichodera, Kold, since its pronotum 

 is very strongly strigose ; wliile of dolichodera the author ex- 

 pressly says " Kragenwulst ohne Querrunzeln, glatt." Nor 

 can the female be his longicollis, which has the same part 

 " wie das Dorsulum mit derben Querriefen besetzt " ; while in 

 producticollis $ both pronotum and dorsulum are apparently 

 quite smooth. It remains as just a possibility that producti- 

 collis $ is the unknown male of longicollis, and producti- 

 collis $ the unknown female of dolichodera ; but on the 

 whole I think this so unlikely that it will be safer to treat 

 the Algerian species as new. 



Both this and the last species occur among the glittering 

 sands of the hottest Sahara, and have that peculiar and 

 beautiful silvery clothing which characterizes many of the 

 specially desert insects, and is no doubt " protective." 



