Records of Dees. 361 



slondcr ; aiili'iior fciiiDiu with long white hair behiiul aii<l 

 yell'iwi.sli while in front, and beneatli with a very well-defincl 

 ol)li(|iie band ol* |)Ur«i white lelt or toinontuin ; anterior tibiie 

 ri'ddish brown in front and near base, very thick, bulging 

 and almost angular behind, posteriorly with an even brush- 

 like fringe of fulvous-tinted hair; the inner edge of the 

 anterior femora has a white tegumentary band, while the 

 til)i.'B, seen trom within, are shining white, with a black 

 margin^ the apical end pale tiilvous ; anterior tarsi very 

 extraordinary, being broadly expanded, the main part f>f the 

 joints black, with a short silvery hair-fringe in front, but the 

 expanded lamina white, with a broad black stripe along the 

 posterior margin ; the expanded white part of the third joint 

 looks greyish exteriorly, having on the inner side a very large 

 long-oval black spot ; ferruginous claws are almost sessile on 

 this gieat expanded structure ; anterior cox3B with much 

 white hair, but no spines, their trochanters beneath red ; 

 middle and hind knees red, their tibiaj more or less reddish, 

 their tarsi entirely red ; no band on first abdominal segment ; 

 sixth s-'gment obtusely biuodulose, tho small nodules close 

 together ; uo ventral 8[)ines. 



This species resembles M. nigrovittata, Ckll., and M. mo- 

 destd, Sm. The male is easily known by the extraordinary 

 anterior legs. The female is known from such species as 

 M. rhodura, Ckll., and J/, gilbertiella, Ckll., by having tiie 

 red or orange colour of the apex of the abdomen wholly due 

 to hair. 



Hub. ]\Iackay, Queensland ; female at flowers oi Eucalijptus, 

 Dec. iSyj {Turner, 291) ; males, April 1899 and Sept. 19U0 

 {Turner, 5a). British Museum. 



Megachile sirricauda, sp. n. 



(S .—Length about 8 mm. 



A short, rather robust insect, resembling the group of 

 M. inacularis, sequior^ cggnoruni, and kio-andensis, but the 

 thorax without hair-spots, and the margin of the sixth abdo- 

 minal segment strongly but irregularly dentate or serrate, 

 with a rounded central emargination. Black, with the dorsal 

 pubescence fulvous and the ventral white ; face densely 

 covered with golden-fulvous iiair ; mandibles black, faintly 

 reddish toward the apex, very hairy ; eyes green ; antennas 

 black ; vertex closely punctured, but shinirg ; mesothorax 

 and scutellum dull, very densely and n)inutely punctured ; 

 fulvous hair of thorax abundant. Legs ordinary, except that 

 the very hairy anterior basitarsus has a large, deep, hairless 



