Feb., 1920 Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 15 



comus before me with the scutellum completely covered with 

 pure yellow pile. 



2. I have submitted this question, with the figure and specimens 

 and all the arguments pro and con known to me, to eight different 

 workers in entomology. Of these eight, six agreed with me and 

 two were undecided. 



3. Until such time, however, it seems to me that we must either 

 adopt the view given above (which is the same as the one first 

 published by Cresson and held to by him). 



4. I have decided to retain it (name pennsylvanicus) for this 

 species, though it is my opinion that De Geer's figure was really 

 made from a specimen of auricomus Robertson. 



1. The scutel of fervidiis is always yellow, of auricomus about 

 as often as not, but in americanorum I have never seen a female 

 with the scutel yellow. I would not accept a determination based 

 on an unusual form. 



2. Six out of eight agreed with the author that americanorum ' 

 was the same as pennsylvanicus. Did they also agree with the 

 opinion expressed in 4, that the figure was made from auricomus? 



In 1903, without giving my own opinion, I asked Mr. W. J. 

 Fox to compare fervidus, americanorum, and auricomus with 

 De Geer's description and give me the result. In a letter of Jan- 

 uary 17, 1903, he says : " If I were identifying that which we have 

 been calling Bombiis fervidus from descriptions I would not hesi- 

 tate for a moment in deciding it to be B. pennsylvanicus De Geer." 



3. I deny the statement made here. Mr. Cresson identified 

 americanorum and auricomus both as pennsylvanicus. Or rather 

 he identified auricomus as pennsylvanicus and americanorum as 

 synonymous. I would not accept any determination or synonymy" 

 when the author had two species mixed. For the fact that Cres- 

 son identified the males of auricomus as pennsylvanicus and re- 

 ferred the males of americanorum to Apathus there is no reason- 

 able explanation except that he did have the females and workers 

 of the two species mixed. If he had distinguished the true sexes 

 of auricomus and, left americanorum without a male, he no doubt 

 would have identified the insects mentioned in Proc. Ent. Soc, 

 2 : 164, as americanorum. 



That Cresson mixed auricomus and americanorum is shown 



