HYMENOPTERA, 255 



61. SpHEX MAURA. B.M. 



Female. Length 11 lines. — Black: the face covered with 

 short silvery ))ubescenee, and tliickl}- set with long black hairs ; 

 the thorax thinly covered with black pubescence, which is most 

 dense on the raetathorax ; the thorax shining above, finely and 

 sparingly punctured ; the post-scutellum notched in the middle ; 

 the metatliorax very finely transversely striated ; the wings dark 

 fuscous, with a violet iridescence ; the abdomen smooth, shining 

 and im punctate. 



The male exactly corresponds with the female. 



Hab. Celebes. 



62. Sphex sericea. B.M. 



Pepsis sericea, Fabr. Syst. Piez. 211. 19. 

 Sphex sericea, Dahlb. Hym. Europ. i. 26. /• var. ? 

 St.Farg. Hym. iii. 341. 12. 



Hab. Islands of the Pacific ; Philippine Islands; Java. 



This species varies in having the scutellum black or red. 



63. Sphex nigella. B.M. 



Female. Length 8 lines. — Black : the head, thorax and petiole 

 with a thin gi-iseous pubescence ; the face densely covered with 

 bright silvery pile ; the anterior margin of the clypeus has two 

 approximate short teeth in the middle ; the mandibles very 

 smooth and shining. Thorax : the disk opake, very delicately 

 punctured, the metathorax finely rugose ; the wings subhyaline, 

 slightly clouded at their apical margins, the nervures rufo-testa- 

 ceous. Abdomen covered with a fine silky pile ; the petiole as 

 long as the two basal segments and curved upwards. 



Male.- — Closely resembles the female, but without teeth on the 

 margin of the clypeus ; the mandibles ferruginous and shining as 

 in the other sex. 



Hab. Shanghai. 



64. Sphex perplexa. B.M. 



Male. Length 10 lines. — Black: the face covered with silvery 

 pubescence ; the head and thorax with a sparing black ])ubes- 

 ccncc ; the thorax finely rugose, the metathorax transversely so; 

 the wings fusco-hyalinc, their apical margins clouded. Abdomen 

 very smooth and shining, the base of the first segment ferrugi- 



N 



