FAMILY ZYGJENIDJ3. 43 



pair of short clu vate appendages. Without more alcoholic speci- 

 mens of this and the other genera it is useless to study these parts, 

 which a casual inspection of dry specimens assures me afford 

 excellent generic and specific characters in this family. 



In coloration it differs from Ctenucha in the saffron pro-thorax, 

 and dark head, and the semi hyaline secondaries. 



While at first sight distinguished from Ctenucha by its long 

 wings and slender body, arid obtusely pointed, almost triangular 

 tip of the abdomen, and the difference in the tergum of the tho- 

 racic rings, there are additional characters which separate the 

 two genera, and show conclusively that Scepsis should be con- 

 sidered as a group of equal value with Ctenucha itself, and not 

 a suhgenus of it. These are : the curved palpi which are consid- 

 erably shorter ; the thicker clavate pectinations of the antennae, 

 the marked differences in the rieuration, arid the slender hind 

 femora. The . clypeus is much wider, arid the mesial ridge is 

 not so prominent or so long as in Ctenucha, the clypeus of which 

 narrows much more rapidly towards the front edge. 



Totfhow how accurately, in insects at least, the generic char- 

 acters can be discovered from the inspection of a single species 

 of the group, I would state that the above description was 

 drawn up from specimens of & fnlvicollis only. Upon com- 

 paring afterwards specimens of a California!! species in the Mu- 

 seum of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, which is closely 

 allied to the species first mentioned, I find that the characters 

 considered above as generic will in no case have to be altered. 

 In the Californian species the style of coloration is the same, the 

 palpi are a little more curved, the antennas are the same, so 

 also the pro-thorax, the rieuration is identical throughout, and 

 there is the same broad obtusely pointed tip of the abdomen. 

 The specific distinctions are these ; a light tint of brown, a 

 brownish abdomen, instead of deep blue, and a more hairy 

 thorax than in S. fulvicollis ; while in size, the two species are 

 much alike. 



Scepsis fulvicollis Walker is found in Canada West (St. 

 Catharines, Coll. S. H. Scudder) It will no doubt occur in 

 southern New England. 



LYCOMORPHA Harris. 



The front of the head is provided with long scales extending 

 to the base of the maxillae. When the head is denuded, the 

 olypeus is broadly scutellate, the length being equal to the 



