306 Mr. T. D. A. Cockorcll — PescripUojis and 



cox:u with ratlier short sliuip spines; spurs dark brown. 

 Abdomen shining, with entire transverse sulci at bases of 

 socond and third segments ; first segment witli short bhick 

 hair, the foHowing witli thin pale pminose pubescence, the 

 broad nuirgin of fourth, and fifth and sixth entirely, densely 

 covered witl) very bright ochroous felt-like tomentum ; sixth 

 S''gnient with a pair of parallel acute red spines; ventral 

 segments beyond the first with ochreous hair-buuds. 



Zarunia, Ecuador, October 1915 {F. W. Rohwer). 



This belongs to a section or subgenus which was first made 

 known by Spinola in 1853, when he described M. .vnitlnira 

 from Para. Spinola had only the female, but Vachal, in 

 1*J08, briefly described what he considered to be the male 

 from French Guian;i, Ecuador, and Bt)livia. In the same 

 3'ear Schrottky described a close relative as M. hertonii from 

 Paraguay, and in 1913 he suggested that Vachal's male was 

 not the true xantliura, but hertonii or closely related to it. 

 Finally, Friese, in 1916, described il/. .ra/t//'?/?'a, var. hrunnei- 

 jiennis, from Costa Rica and Peru, querying whether it might 

 be identical with hertonii. The short description appears to 

 confirm this idea. 



M. microsotna, Ckll., 1912, from Brazil, is very close to 

 M. hertonii, difFL-ring in the pure white hair fringing clypeus, 

 the fewer punctures in middle of clypeus, the more shining 

 mesothorax, and the more acute and equilateral teeth at end 

 of abdomen. The M. hertonii com])ared was received from 

 Behrottky. M. diodontura differs from these species by the 

 orange-tinted wings, red teeth or spines at end of abdomen, &c. 



M. hidentis, Ckll., from Mexico, is of this alliance, and has 

 wings coloured as in M. diodontura, but the teeth at end of 

 abdomen are very short, triangular, and black. M. auranti- 

 pfnnis, Ckll., from Guatemala, has no coxal spines, apical 

 spines of abdomen black, &c. 



Halictus distinctus, Walker, 1871. 



? . — Type in Brit. Museum. 



Wady Genneh. 



Hair-bauds on apical margins of abdominal segments j 

 third s.m. very broad above, first r. n. joining second s.m. 

 some distance before end ; area of metathorax entirely dull, 

 minutely rugose in middle, at sides with line plicai; head 

 broad, almost circular seen from in front; iiind spur with 

 minute teeth. 



