444 Mr. T. D. A. Cockerell on 



Megalopta sodalis, Yaclial. 



4 ? , Issororo, N.W.D., June 1915 and 1916 {J(3odkh}) -, 

 attracted to light, Morawhanna, N.W.D. [Budkin) ; N.W. 

 District, May 1917 {A. A, Abraham). 



These bees, like the Ptiloglossa, have large ocelli and are 

 nocturnal or vespertine. Described from Brazil. 



Megalopta tacarunensis, sp. n. 



(^ . — Length about 12'5 mm., anterior wing about 10. 

 Head and thorax brassy green, with strong coppery 

 tints on face (especially supraclypeal area), mesothorax, 

 and scutellum; lower margin of ciypeus and labrum dull 

 yellowish ; face very narrow, broadened on front by 

 emargination of orbits; ocelli large as usual, lateral one's 

 distance from occipital margin abont the length of an 

 ocellus ; mandibles pale basally, darkened apically ; tongue 

 long and linear ; antennae long, pale ferruginous, the 

 flagellum blackened above and nodose beyond the middle ; 

 ciypeus very sparsely and not strongly punctured; meso- 

 thorax shining, with fine punctures and widely scattered 

 larger ones ; scutellum convex, not at all bigil)bous ; post- 

 scutellum considerably smaller than scutellum ; base of 

 metathorax with a rather narrow shining channel, obtusely 

 angulate in middle, its margins and ends with indistinct 

 traces of plicae ; tubercles and tegulse ferrnginous. Wings 

 slightly dusky, not clouded in the marginal cell; stigma and 

 outer nervures yellowish ferruginous, toward the base the 

 nervures are darker ; second submargiual cell small ; first 

 recurrent nervure meeting second intercubitus. Legs ferru- 

 ginous, with concolurous hair. Abdomen with first two 

 segments light ferruginous ; apex of second, and the 

 remaining segments, much darker ; third ventral segment 

 with a complete and deep median sulcus. 



Cattle Trail Survey, Takaruni R. (sec. 2), June 1919 

 (J. A. Abraham). 



Near to M. athaiilis (Vachal), from Peru, but the abdo- 

 men is differently coloured. Also allied to M. tabascana^ 

 C'klL, from Mexico, but differing in the area of metathorax 

 and coloration of abdomen. Possibly all three aie races or 

 subspecies of one species. It has been the history ot the 

 South American birds and mammals that many species have 

 been described as distinct, from widely separated places. More 

 recent, far more intensive and exhaustive studies have shown 

 that the number of separable forms is yery much greater 

 than had been supposed, but that whole series of these aie 



