138 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May, 'o2 



Genera Crust, et hisect., II, p. 350, 1809. In this work, volume 

 2 does not at all relate to Hymenoptera and is dated 1807. 

 Dalla Torre, 1896, while giving the proper reference, queries 

 the page, as though the work had not been consulted by him. 



Now comes another question of importance. Freise, 1899,^ 

 says under I^ithurgus,, "An den einfachen Beinen fehlt das 

 Pulvillum," presumably referring to both sexes. Mr. Wni. 

 H. Ashmead writes me that no pul villus exists in either sex of 

 two genuine species of European lyithurgus, although he does 

 not indicate which species; and Mr. T. D. A. Cockerell informs 

 me that he has examined a male specimen of Lithurgus atrahcs 

 from India, and failed to find a pulvillus. 



It is well known that two of our species, \IMhurgiis\ gibbosus 

 and apicalis have in the male a distinct pulvillus ; so from the 

 evidence at hand it is clear that these species cannot be included 

 under Lithurgus Berth. According to Ashmead' s classifica- 

 tion of the bees they would not come under the same subfamily 

 as Lithurgus, or the two sexes would fall into different sub- 

 families, which, it seems to me, is evidence of the instability of 

 classificatorial schemes whose main virtue seems to be conveni- 

 ence, or an artificial rather than a natural arrangement. 



The new genus may be characterized as follows : 



LITHURGOPSIS gen. nov. 



General appearance of Lithurgus and Megachile. Maxillary 

 X)alpi 3-jointed, the joints of almost equal length, the first sub- 

 triangular, or in other words, much widened apically. Labial 

 palpi 3-jointed, the first joint broad, about \ the length of 

 the the second, which at base is of equal width to the first, but 

 tapers to a slender apex, the terminal joint minute and clavate. 

 In the male sex is a di.stinct i)ulvillus, which is absent in the 

 female. Tarsal claws in male cleft ; in the female squarely 

 toothed within basally. 



Type [/Jt/iitrgus] apicalis Cresson. This is selected as the 

 typo iKTcausc I have dis.sected the mouth parts, which a limited 

 series ol gibbosus, the older species, did not permit me to do. 



Our species of Lithurgop.sis may be tabulated as follows : 



• Die liienen Eurofies, Theil V, p. 6. 



