70 On nctc or douhfful Species of the Genus Ammophila. 



9. Ammophila product icoUiSf sp. n. 



Bicolor, capite ct thoracc nigris ; abdoinine rufo, basi hand nigro- 

 linoata, segmentis vcro 2 vel 3 apicnlibiis infuscatis. Antennarum 

 articulus 1 (totus) ct 2 (partim), mandibulie prooter apices iiigros, 

 labrum clypeique margo latus, alarum hyalinarura tegulae cum 

 stigmate et magna parte nervorum pallide aurantinco-rufa. Pedes 

 rufi, posticorum basibus eu]ierno nonnibil infuscatis. Caput 

 thoraxque dcusissirae splendideque argeiiteo-pubescentia vel 

 tomentosa ; temporura prosterni femorumque anticorum ( $ ) 

 fimbriffi longge et aequabiles. 



Tronotum longissimum, evidenter baud latius quam longius. 

 {J . Pro- et mesonotum antice transversim, scutellum longitu- 

 dinaliter, propodeum oblique (fere longitudinaliter) strigosum. 

 Mesonotum antice lineis 3 impressis longis vel suturis divisum. 

 $ strigis (quantum video) nullis, scd mesonoto ut in mare lineis 

 impressis diviso atque etiam circa bas ita depresso ut paene trisul- 

 catum vel bicarinatum videatur. Cljpeus apice in medio exciso. 



Long. 17 mill. 



Biskra (Eaton). Male, 5 v. '97 ; female, 16 v. '94. 



The two sexes are very similar except in tlie sculpture of 

 the thorax ; this, as stated above, differs widely, and it is not 

 without some hesitation that I put the two together. They 

 were taken, liowever, in exactly the same locality (near the 

 Fontaine Chaude) and in the same month (May). 



The male cannot be doUchodera, Kohl, since its pronotum 

 is very strongly strigose ; wliile of doUchodera the author ex- 

 pressly says " Kragenwulst ohne Querrunzeln, glatt." Nor 

 can the female be his longicollis, which has the same part 

 " wie das Dorsulum mit derben Querriefen besetzt " ; while in 

 product icoUis ? both pronotum and dorsulum are apparently 

 quite smooth. It remains as just a possibility t!iat producti- 

 coUi's (J is the unknown male of /ongicoUis, and producti- 

 coUis ? the unknown female of doUchodera ; but on the 

 whole I think this so unlikely that it will be safer to treat 

 the Algerian species as new. 



Both this and the last species occur among the glittering 

 sands of the hottest Sahara, and have that peculiar and 

 beautiful silvery clothing which characterizes many of the 

 specially desert insects, and is no doubt '' protective." 



