40 Messrs. T. D. A. Cockerel! and E. Atkins on 



long series of examples. Species are separated, for instance, 

 by the presence of several (six or seven) blunt bristles, or 

 at least one, amongst many pointed bristles from those wliich 

 possess no blunt bristle. If, however, they vary in this respect 

 between six and one, there is no reason why tliey should not 

 vary from six to none. So, too, with respect to colour- 

 differences and characters based on the relative length of 

 ]irotarsus i., in connexion at any rate with tiie distinction of 

 L. geometricus from L. ohscurior, new species. In numerous 

 exam} ties of L. geometricus from the Amazons, Table Moun- 

 tain, Karachi, and Jansenville one finds every variation in 

 coloration from pale whity grey to almost jet-black, while 

 protarsus i. varies in length from three to four times longer 

 than the tarsus. L. obscurior is distinguished from geome- 

 tricus by the variation of protarsus i., three and a quarter to 

 tliree and a half times the tarsus — that of the latter species 

 being about four times the tarsus. 



The variation of colour in L. mactans, too, ranges from the 

 central band and lateral slashes being red (as in the typical 

 North-American form) to almost jet-black, so that one hesi- 

 tates to separate examples even as subspecies on the strength 

 of slight variations in this respect — as, for instance, L. insu- 

 laris, L. insularis insularis, and L. insularis lanulifcr. 



The following are Dr. DaliFs new species and subspecies : — 

 L. obscurior, sp. n., Madagascar; L. insularis, sp. n., An- 

 tilles; L. insularis insularis, subsp. n., St. Thomas ; L, in- 

 sularis lunulifer, subsp. n., Haiti; L.sagittifer, sp. n., Porto 

 Alegro j L. ancorifer, sp. n., New Guinea ; L. llaJili, sp. n., 

 ]^ismarck Archipelago ; L. luzonicus, sp. n., Philippines ; 

 L. Stuhlmanni, sp. n., East Africa ; L. renivulvatus, sp. n., 

 German S.W. Africa. 



V. — Contributions from the New Mexico Biological Station. 

 — X III. On the Bees of the Family Nomadidse of Ashmead. 

 ]>y T. I). A. CocKERELL and Emerson Atkins. 



The Nomadidge of Ashmead (Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. xxvi. 

 p. 64) are the parasitic bees with three submarginal cells. 

 Ashmead himself says that they have "undoubtedly originated 

 from other bees, through ditferent lines of descent." lie 

 adds : — " It is evident, however, that most of them are 

 descendants from various Anthophorid bees, since they agree 

 more nearly with these bees in venation and the characters of 

 the nioutli-parts than with any of the others." If we admit 



