the Ilijinenoplera in the British Museum. 461 



Tlie ? resembles the (J in every respect, hut is rather 

 larger (13 nun. to apex of tergite 2) ; like the J" llie elypeus 

 is wholly yellow. 



I can refer the species without hesitation to the genua 

 Pareumenes after an exaniitiatioii of both sexes. 



Montezumia amalice (Sauss.). 



Noi'tonia amalice, Sauss. Stettin, ent. Zeit. p. 53 (1809). S . 

 = Montezumia austrulensis, Perkius, Proc. Hawaii Ent. Soc. ii. p. 33 

 (1908). d. 



Saussure's type canie from lloclvhamj)ton. Dr. Perkins 

 tells me that he thinks these insects are synonymous; speci- 

 mens of M. austrulensis were submitted to Dr. Scluilthess, 

 and Dr. Perkins is under the im[)ression that he established 

 their synonymity. On careful comparison I have no doubt 

 that he was correct, though there seems to have been no 

 published record. 



POLISTES, Latr. (1802). 



Polistes, Latreillo, Hist. Nat. Crust. Ins. iii. p. 363 (1802). 



= Ahispa, Mitcliell, Expad. Eastern Australia, i. p. 104 (1838). 



=Abispa, Sauss. Et. Fam. Vesp., Suppl. p. 109 (18-34). 



Saussure wrongly sank his genus Monerehia (1852) to 

 Ahispa (1838). Ahispa is clearly not a Eumenid wasp, as 

 both description and context show. Nor can it be claimed 

 that Ahispa is a nomen nudum; Saussure's remark (I.e.) 

 that the genus was erected solely as a name, e. y., " (xenus 

 Vespa, subgenus Abispo," is misleading, as there follows 

 a specific description of several lines, based entirely, it is 

 true, on colour. 



Monerebia, Sauss., can now be resuscitated. 



In justification of this synonymy it may be of interest to 

 quote verbatim an account from Mitchell's book concerning 

 his experiences with ^^ Ahispa australiana" : — ''At seventeen 

 miles we entered a plain, where grew trees of the acacia 

 pendula, and traversed it in a south-west direction, thus pro- 

 ceeding where it was most elongated. On enteiing the wood 

 beyond a sudden extreme pain in my thigh made me shout 

 before I was aware of the cause; a large insect had fastened 

 itself upon me, and, on looking back, I perceived Souter, 

 ' the Doctor,' endeavouring to defend himself from several 

 insects of the same kind. He told me that I had passed 

 near a tree on which their nest was suspended ; and it appeared 

 that this had been sufficient to provoke the attacks ol these 



Ann. cD Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 8. Vol xiv. 32 



