l894-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 20I 



larly subquadrate, receiving the recurrent nervure a little before its mid- 

 dle; the cubital nervure elbowed at the point of junction, and also where 

 it joins the first transverso-cubital nervure; third submarginal entirely 

 wanting. Length about ir mm.; of front wing 7 mm. * 



Hab. — Las Cruces, N. Mex., August (Ckll.). 



Mr. Fox, who first determined this species as new, remarks 

 that it is near attenuata Blake, but larger, first segment of abdo- 

 men longer, second submarginal cell differently shaped. 



The specific name occurred to me because the species is so 

 pale, with its hairs white and standing on end. 



In comparing the species of Photopsis from Wet Mountain 

 Valley, Colordo (8000 feet), with those from Mesilla Valley, N. 

 Mex. (3800 feet), it is remarkable that all of the former {alcanor, 

 glabrella, atratd) have black heads and three submarginal cells, 

 while all the latter {territus, concolor, danatis, ynellipes) have 

 brown or yellowish heads and two submarginal cells. 



STUDIES AMONG THE FOSSORIAL HYMENOPTERA.-III. 



Synopsis of the N. Am. species of the genus Mellinus Fab. 

 By William J. Fox. 



MELLINUS Fab. 



Mellinus Fab., Ent. Syst. emend, ii, p. 285, 1793; Packard, Proc. Ent. 



Soc. Phila. vi, p. 418, 1867; Handlirsch, Sitzb. d. k. Akad. d. 



Wissensch. math.-naturw. classe, xcvi, p. 271. 

 This genus is easily distinguished by the petiolated abdomen, 

 the recurrent nervures being received by the first and third sub- 

 marginal cells and the long, lanceolate marginal cell. The body 

 is usually smooth and often gorgeously ornamented. The larvae, 

 it is said, are fed on Diptera, the imagoes being frequently found 

 in the vicinity of the excrement of cattle, where they prey on the 

 various flies there congregated.* Our species seem to be rare 

 in collections, although the collection of the American Entomo- 

 logical Society contains all the North American species except 

 M. alpestris from Mexico. • 



1. First segment of abdomen red 2. 



First segment of abdomen colored otherwise 3. 



2. Abdomen, except first segment, black, with prominent, yellow mark- 



ings; first segment strongly nodose at apex; femora more or less 

 reddish rnfinodns. 



* See Handlirsch's paper mentioned in the above synonymy; also Cresson, Proc. Ent. 

 Soc. Phila. iv, p. 475. 



