NORTH AMERICAN HYMENOPTERA. 213 



Spliaerophtlialma erato Blake. 



Female. — Rufo-castaneous ; head round, not as wide as thorax, clothed with 

 dense yellowish white pubescence ; eyes large, round, prominent, polished ; an- 

 tennae fuscous, scape thinly clothed with Avhitish hairs, tips of mandibles black : 

 thorax short, ovate, coarsely punctured, metathorax abruptly truncate, thinly 

 clothed with white hairs ; legs sparsely clothed with long glittering white hairs, 

 femora punctured ; abdomen elongate ovate, coarsely and deeply punctured, 

 thinly clothed with erect glittering white hairs, apical margins of first and second 

 segments densely fringed with white pubescence ; under side same as above. 

 Length 8-12 mm. 



Hab. — Texas. Two specimens. 



Sphserophthalma Sackenii Cresson. 



Female. — Deep black, with large, coarse punctures ; head not wider than the 

 thorax, clothed above the antennae with long, dense, erect, whitish pubescence, 

 rest of the head with deep black pubescence; eyes small, round, entire and con- 

 vex ; antennae black, the flagellum sericeous ; thorax ovate, abrupt on the sides 

 and behind, the upper surface densely clothed with very long, erect, somewhat 

 radiating, whitish pubescence ; the black upper surface of the thorax is concealed 

 by a short, dense, appressed, whitish pubescence ; sides of the thorax and beneath 

 clothed with deep black pubescence, which is exceedingly long and fringe-like 

 on the ridge between the two lateral excavations and immediately opposite the 

 intermediate legs ; legs deep black, with long black pubescence, very long on the 

 femora; abdomen ovate, the dorsal surface, except the extreme base, clothed like 

 the thorax, with a very long, somewhat radiating whitish pubescence, which ex- 

 tends beneath on the lateral apical margins of the segments ; the node, or small 

 basal segment, is rather small, deeply rugose and clothed with long black pubes- 

 cence. Length 12-14 mm. (Cresson.) 



Male. — Black ; head and thorax densely clothed with long whitish pubescence, 

 mandibles and antennae black ; eyes large, round and prominent ; sides of thorax 

 densely and coarsely punctured, and clothed with black pubescence ; legs black, 

 clothed with long black pubescence ; wings fuliginous, three submarginal cells, 

 marginal cell short, ovate, truncate at tip ; first submarginal large, second sub- 

 triangular, narrowed at the marginal cell, its transverse nervures sinuate, receiv- 

 ing the first recurrent nervure near the base, third submarginal subpentagonal . 

 much narrowed beneath, the second recurrent nervure reaching the cubital a 

 little outside the cell ; abdomen ovate, basal segment campanulate, densely 

 clothed with long, coarse, black pubescence ; second segment densely and finely 

 punctured, clothed with long black pubescence ; apical segments with long, coarse, 

 whitish pubescence; ventral surface coarsely punctured, clothed with black pu- 

 bescence. Length 12 mm. ; expanse of wings 22 mm. (Blake.) 



Hab. — California. 



This remarkable species may be at once recognized by the deep 

 black color and the exceedingly long, erect, whitish pubescence 

 which clothes the upper surface of the head, thorax and abdomen, 

 giving it a brush-like appearance. The smallest specimen has the 

 whitish pubescence much shorter than the larger ones, as if the very 

 long pubescence had been cropped off. 



