PROSOPOLEPIS JOCOSA 161 



Genesic Diagnosis of Adult Female (Male Unknown) : 



Proboscis shorter than abdomen, the apical portion swollen; palpi short In 

 female, male unknown; antennae with the joints subequal, each joint with a single 

 whorl of hairs near the base; eyes contiguous at vertex; clypeus clothed with scales. 

 Prothoracic lobes moderately large, well separated. Vestiture of flat, appressed 

 scales, some flat erect scales on nape. Mesonotum without setae on disk; postnotum 

 with setse. Abdomen subcylindrical, blunt at tip. Legs rather long and slender; 

 claws small, equal and simple. 



The larva is unknown. 



Forested regions of tropical America. 



The genus Prosopolepis Lutz is founded on the presence of scales on the 

 clypeus, absence of the same on the postnotum, the hind legs not ciliate. None 

 of these characters are properly diagnostic of a genus, and we suspect that 

 Prosopolepis may fall as a synonym of Ooeldia Theobald, which appears to have 

 a short, swollen proboscis, separated prothoracic lobes and the other characters 

 of the genus before us. It is said to have scales on the postnotum, not on the 

 clypeus.* We have no specimens of Goeldia before us, and so only call attention 

 to this matter. Prosopolepis groups with Joblotia and Lesticocampa on the 

 dorsally contiguous eyes and widely separated prothoracic lobes, but separates 

 from them on the shorter, swollen proboscis, a character which has prov^ weak 

 with larger groups of species. 



The larval history and habits are unknown. We suspect, from the large size 

 of the imago and its rarity, that the larva will prove to be predaceous. 



The genus Prosopolepis is represented in our fauna by but a single species. 



PROSOPOLEPIS JOCOSA Dyar & Knab. 

 Prosopolepis jocosa Dyar & Knab, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xxxv, 64, 1908. 

 Prosopolepis jocosa Theobald, Hon. Culic, v, 627, 1910. 



Origin AL Descexption of Pbosopolepis jocosa: 



Female. — Proboscis moderately long and slender, the apical portion swollen, 

 black-scaled; palpi short, slender, black-scaled; clypeus blackish, clothed with silvery 

 gray scales; eyes contiguous; occiput dark-scaled, with faint metallic reflection, 

 the margin of the eyes narrowly silver-gray-scaled; prothoracic lobes well separated, 

 prominent, clothed with blackish scales, with faint luster; mesonotum dark-scaled, 

 with faint metallic luster and with grayish reflections over the roots of the wings 

 and on the scutellum; metanotum with a group of setae near the apex and without 

 scales; postscutellum with numerous long pale hairs and with dark scales like 

 those of the abdomen; abdomen clothed above with blue-black scales, with very 

 faint metallic luster; beneath silver- white-scaled, the lateral margins straight; 

 tip of the abdomen with numerous coarse bristles; scales of the wing-veins brown, 

 broad, those along the costa blue-black; legs dark-scaled, with blue and bronzy luster 

 and without white markings; femora whitish beneath. Length, 4 mm. 



One specimen, Caldera, Canal Zone, Panama. (A. H. Jennings.) 



Type.— Cat. No. 11975, U. S. N. M. 



The genus Prosopolepis Lutz was founded on the presence of scales on the clypeus, 

 which is not a fundamental character. However, the species before us is separable 

 from Lesticocampa by the slender proboscis of the latter, not enlarged at the tip, 

 and we therefore recognize the generic name. 

 Descbiption of FtoiALE OF Pkosopolepis jocosa (Male and Laeva Unknown) : 



Female. — Proboscis rather short, enlarged towards apex, labellae with minute 

 outstanding setae; vestiture brownish black. Palpi short, one-sixth as long as 

 proboscis, uniform, black, with a bronzy reflection, a few outstanding setae. 

 Antennae slender, the basal joints about six times as long as wide, the terminal 

 ones increasingly longer, rugose, coarsely pilose, black ; tori subspherical with a 

 cup-shaped apical excavation, luteous, shaded with blackish ; hairs of the whorls 



* Theobald states that he founds the genus Ooeldia upon a single male sent him by Dr. Lutz 

 from Brazil (Mon. Culic, lil, 330, 1903). We have reason to believe that this specimen, described 

 by him as a male. Is a female. The specimen which Theobald associates as the female appears to 

 belong to some other species and Is possibly not even congeneric. The status of the genus 

 Ooeldia can only be determined by a study of the type, and this, we are Informed, can no longer 

 be found. 

 11 



