Mat, 1893.] INSECTS OF THE DEATH VALLEY EXPEDITION. 207 



Scirtettica occidentalis n. sp. 



The collection also cou tains a single female specimen of locust which has the 

 general appearance at lii.it glance of a Trach-yrrhachys, hut upon closer examination 

 proves to he more nearly related to Scirtettica marmorata Uhl. of the New England 

 coast. 



Head, with the occiput rugulose, rather small and deeply set into the front edge 

 of the pronotum, which latter is also quite rough; vertex hetween the eyes a little 

 narrower than their shortest diameter, deeply grooved and provided with a deep tri- 

 angular pit in front, the lateral walls prominent and farthest apart at front edge of 

 eyes, approaching posteriorly hut not quite meeting; frontal costa deeply sulcate 

 with the. walls prominent, diverging helow. Antennae not quite reaching the pos- 

 terior edge of thepronotum, filiform, hut gently compressed. Pronotum short, ahout 

 as hroad as long, strongly compressed near the front ahove, the median carina prom- 

 inent hut not arched, once severed a little in advance of the middle hy the last 

 transverse impressed line; lateral carina? obliterated in front, hut prominent hehind; 

 posterior angle a right angle. Tegmina and wings exteuding slightly heyond the 

 tips of the ahdomen, the former rather narrow. Hind femora with the base a little 

 inflated; hind tibiae with the apical spines strong and longer than usual. Entire 

 in&ect more or less thickly clothed with short whitish hairs. 



General color, grayish brown mottled and specked with plain brown and dull 

 black. Middle of sides of pronotum with a short oblique whitish blotch. Tegmina 

 with a median and postbasal brown spot on costal edge, apical third and posterior 

 half irregularly flecked with quadrate flecks of varying sizes. Wings with disk- 

 like waxy yellow, crossed just beyond the middle by a dull, rather narrow fuscous 

 band that sends a dark ray nearly to the base along the costal erige, apex hyaline 

 with two or three small fuscous spots along the principal veins. Posterior femora 

 crossed above by three -blackish bands, the middle one showing on the outer face as 

 a very oblique band, anteriorly with the basal half black, beyond this wifh a yellow 

 and then a black band, the knees dusky; hind tibiae yellowish, infuscated ajncally 

 and provided with an obscure dusky annulus near the basal third. 



Length of body, $,20 m "\; of antennae., 6 mm . : of pronotum, 4 mm . ; of tegmina, 

 19 mm . ; of hind femora, 12.25""". 



Habiiat. — A single specimen from Argus Mountains, Calif., May, 1891. 



This insect does not properly fall in this genus, but appears to approach the mem- 

 bers belonging here more closely than it does any of the other forms known to me, 

 and for that reason is placed here, for the present at least. 



Dracotettix plutonius n. sp. 



A smaller species than the D. monstrosus, with a much lower median pronotal car- 

 ina and the vertex shorter and more depressed. 



Vertex between the eyes about as wide ( $ ), or a little wider than the shortest 

 diameter of the eyes, shallowly sulcate throughout and divided into longitudinal 

 halves by a rather prominent median carina, most marked behind, the lateral edges 

 raised so as to form low walls ; frontal costa of nearly equal width throughout, 

 quite prominent to just below the ocellus ; helow this point the face is perpendicular ; 

 antennae short, heavy, slightly broadened and flattened near the base, bluntly 

 pointed. Pronotum in front a little wider than the head, the dorsum somewhat flat- 

 tened, with the lateral carime evenly divergent posteriorly, nearly as prominent as 

 the median, which has its lobes rounded, anterior margin obtuse-angled, the pos- 

 terior acute-angled. Tegmina and wings abbreviated, acute, the inner margins not 

 quite touching in the female, and but very slightly overlapping in the male, reach- 

 ing past the back edge of the third abdominal segment in the former and nearly to 

 the base of the supra-anal plate in the latter. Prosterrial spine quite large, rounded 

 hehind, straight or slightly concave in front and very bluntly pointed. 



The general color of this insect is dull grayish brown, the lighter color inclining to 



