120 



throuiih die kindness of Prof. Vernon Kellogg. I can find 

 no iinpurtant differences between Banks' gemis and Epimodiop- 

 tcruii. 



8. Pakatipiiia. 



It seems very donbtfnl if this genus can be maintained 

 since extra-American species are found which present singly 

 two of the three characters by which the genus is separated 

 from Tiphia. The first abdominal segment may be carinate 

 without the white clypeus of the $ , while the venation is nor- 

 mal for Tiphia, or the venation may Ix' like Paratipliia and the 

 other cliaracters like Tiphiti. 



EUMENIDAE. 



0. WiFAT Is Abispa australIxVxa Mitchell ? 



The late ^\v. :\[eade Waldo (Ann. :\Iag. Xat. Hist. (8) 

 14:461, 1914) synonymized Mitchell's genus Ahispa with 

 Polisies, reviving Sanssure's Monerohia for this interesting 

 genus of Australian Eumenidae. That this course should not 

 be followed was my conclusion after examination of jMitchell's 

 work, and the two Hymenoptera involved in the (piestion. 



^Mitchell's Journals of 1831-2 were prepared for publica- 

 tion in 1838, seven years after Mv. Mitchell and his friend 

 were stung by the ferocious PoUstes Icpidiis. It is evident 

 that the description was drawn up at the latter date and 

 from this description it is easy to see that the great ex- 

 plorer was far from being familiar with entomological 

 terms. If one compares the description of the insect which 

 he gives with Polisies tepidiis and Smith's Ahispti nustralis 

 it seen)s perfectly clear that, in the s(>ven years interven- 

 ing between his expedition and the publication of his Journals 

 that he had become confused as to the identity of his assailant 

 and described the largest and most ferocious-looking of the 

 wasps he had eolleeted under the influence of this confusion. 



Since the original descri])tion is not readily accessilde to 

 entouKilogists its re])roduction is desirable. It is found as a 



