1901.] HrMBNOPTERA EROM NEW BRITAIN. 245 



towards the apex with rufous ; the apex of the last segment has 

 a wide rounded incision in the middle ; the sides of the incision 

 project into a blunt tooth ; outside there are two shorter, blunter 

 teeth ; the central part is roundly raised and surrounded by a wide 

 depression ; the apical half in the centre is distinctly keeled. The 

 ventral surface is more or less brownish ; the epipygium is obliquely 

 raised and obliquely narrowed towards the apex, which is acutely 

 pointed. The wings are uniformly fuscous-violaceous, with black 

 stigma and nervures. 



Comes nearest to M. alecto Smith, from New Gruinea : that 

 species may easily be known from it by the central keel on the 

 last segment of the abdomen extending backwards to the base of 

 the segment, it being also much broader ; the apex of the abdomen 

 too is not toothed, only incised in the middle, and the apical tooth 

 of the mandibles is much longer and stouter, and the apex of the 

 clypeus and the space between the antennae only are covered with 

 pale hair. 



Megachile othoka, sp. nov. 



Nigra ; ahdomine late riifo-vestito ; pedihus anticis riifis ; alls 

 fusco-violaceis. c? • 



Long. 12 mm. 



The lower part of the front, the face, and clypeus are thickly 

 covered with pale fulvous hair ; the front and vertex are strongly 

 punctured. The mandibles are closely punctured, except at the 

 apex ; the apical tooth is sharply triangular ; separated from this 

 by a short space is a shorter triangular tooth, followed by a much 

 larger, more projectiug, rounded one. Thorax closely and dis- 

 tinctly punctured. Legs black ; the anterior femora, tibiae, and 

 tarsi in front rufous ; the femora are also rufous above and the 

 tarsi dark testaceous ; the tooth on the front coxae is stout ; the 

 tarsi are thickly covered with pale hair. Wings fuscous-violaceous ; 

 the nervures and stigma deep black ; the 2nd transverse cubital 

 nervure has the lower part slightly oblique ; the upper is sharply 

 oblique, with the top on a different angle from the rest. Abdomen 

 above densely covered Avith brick-red depressed pubescence, except 

 on the basal and on the greater part of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seg- 

 ments ; the apex in the middle has a shallow incision ; the part 

 behind this is depressed ; the part on either side is irregularly, 

 slightly toothed. The apical segment roundly, broadly projects in 

 the centre above ; below it is broadly curved inwardly. 



This may be M.placida Smith, from Grilolo (Proc. Linn. Soc. 

 1861, p. 60), but as no mention is made of the form of the man- 

 dibles or of the anal segment, this is a mere guess. 



Allied to this species is the following from New Guinea : — 



Megaohile malatana, sp. nov. 



Nigra; capite thoraceque dense, nigro-pilosis ; abdominis dorso rufo- 

 vestito ; alls fusco-violaceis. S . 



Long. 11-12 mm. 

 Proc. Zool. Soc— 1901, Vol. I. No. XYII. 17 



