DESCRIPTION OF SPECIBS. 



Polistes canadensis (Linn.). 



Head and thorax ferruginous brown ; antennae ferruginous at their base, black 

 in middle, orange at end ; a little black on sides of thorax and in median dorsal 

 furrow of metathorax ; metathorax with fine, transverse s'rise. Abdomen brown 

 or blackish; coxae and femora black, tarsi, ends of the femora and base of the 

 tibiae, ferruginous. Wings deep brown, with brown reflections. Length 18 mm. 



Var. A. The .femora ferruginous, black underneath ; tibiae of the middle legs 

 ferruginous. 



Var. B. Body and legs entirely ferruginous. 



Var. C. Posterior border of the first segment of the abdomen ferruginous. 



Hab. Florida, Mississippi (Ashmead), Washington, D. C (Packard), Texas. 



.P. annularis (Linn.). 



Black. Head ferruginous, a line on the top of the clypeus and vertex black ; 

 antennae ferruginous, black in the middle, orange at the end ; the prothorax bor- 

 dered with red ; tegulae, a point under the wings, two marks on the middle of the 

 mesothorax, two points on the scutellum, and two on the metathorax, reddish ; 

 postscutellum ferruginous yellow. Abdomen black, first segment bordered with 

 yellow. Legs brown, with articulations yellow. Wings black. Length 18 mm. 



Var. A. Thorax ferruginous, varied with black. 



Var. B. Whole insect clear ferruginous. 



Var. C. Insect brown, often confounded by the color with P. canadensis. 



Var. D. Thorax and two marks on the side of the second segment reddish. 



Hab. North America. Very common in the cotton belt of the South (Ash- 

 mead), Brazil (Saussure). 



P. crinitus (Felton). 



Female. Head yellow, front and vertex ferruginous ; clypeus convex, rounded 

 at the base ; first joint of antennae ferruginous, the rest yellow, black above in the 

 middle. Thorax black ; prothorax angular, bordered with yellow ; scutellum and 

 postscutellum yellow, separated by a black line ; tegulae and a line or mark under 

 the wings rejoining the angles of the prothorax yellow ; metathorax smooth, with 

 the median dorsal furrow very pronounced ; articular valves yellow. Abdomen 

 black, all the segments regularly and broadly bordered with yellow, the borders of 

 the second and third very straight and preceded by a red band ; the last two fer- 

 ruginous yellow. Legs black, ends of the femora, tibiae, and tarsi yellow, outer 

 side of the hind legs black. Wings ferruginous, washed with brown. 



Var. A. Body brown or red, instead of black ; borders of the abdomen somewhat 

 fused with the brown or black ; antennae ferruginous with black in the middle. 



Var. B. P. crinitus billardieri Sauss. Posterior parts of the head yellow ; orbits 

 and ends of the clypeus yellow. Thorax red ; prothorax bordered with yellow in 

 front and behind ; scutellum bordered with yellow ; metathorax black, with two 

 yellow lines ; the first segment of the abdomen yellow on three sides, black in the 

 middle, the rest reddish, narrowly bordered with yellow. Wings brownish. 



Var. C. Mesothorax black, with two small yellow lines ; metathorax with two 

 yellow lines. 



Var. D. Two yellow lines on posterior plate of metathorax and two on sides. 



Hab. America. 



(79) 



