ART. 17 WASPS OF THE GENUS TIPHIA ALLEN AND JAYNES 5 



degree to which they mingle with the primary punctures are valu- 

 able characters. 



The density, erectness, and orientation of the hair would be a good 

 character if it were not for the fact that this vestiture is easily rubbed 

 off. The width of the face between the antennal fossa and the eye 

 orbit, termed the antennocidar distance^ varies between species and 

 forms a distinguishing character in males. The most prominent fea- 

 ture of the clypeus is the median extension. In the female it is nearly 

 always truncate or faintly emarginate, but in the male the emargina- 

 tion varies sharply between species, and is an excellent character. 

 Another good specific character in both sexes is the extent of the 

 impunctate margin, measured in terms of its proportion to the whole 

 clypeoantennal distance^ which is the distance from the apex of the 

 extension to the anterior edge of the antennal fossae. This distance 

 is also used as a unit for measuring the apical width of the clypeal 

 extension in the males, which is the distance between the two apical 

 points, or, in species with truncate clypeus, of the truncate portion. 

 The lateral margin of the clypeus, which includes the distance from 

 the extension to the base of the mandibles, is anteriorly convex in 

 some species (pi. 1, fig. 8), and straight in others. 



The only reliable mandibular character in this group is found in 

 the presence or absence of a medial longitudinal groove (pi. 3, 

 fig. 21) in females. Dentation and coloration seem to have little 

 value. 



In a number of species of the koreana group the third antennal 

 segment is conspicuously reddish. The flagellum is somewhat 

 fulvous underneath in the females of many species, but this is rare 

 m the males. In the males of some species there is a series of rec- 

 tangular, fulvous spots on the underside of the antennae, extending 

 to the tip. 



Thorax. — ^The degree of shagreening and the size, shape, density, 

 and uniformity of distribution of punctures vary as greatly on the 

 thorax as on the front, and are defined in the same terms. A trans- 

 verse carina separating the dorsal and the anterior aspects of the 

 pronotum is almost always strongly developed in males, but varies 

 enough in females to be a fairly good character if not too rigidly 

 applied. It may be lacking medially and it may have the edge flat- 

 tened. In the females, the hindmost punctures of the pronotum may 

 be concentrated in a densely punctate, transverse discal hand. The 

 medial extension of the punctate, anterior portion of the dorsal aspect 

 may be greater or less than that of the impunctate, posterior portion, 

 though this is somewhat unreliable as a character when there is also 

 a narrow, medial, impunctate emargination of the punctate portion. 



