306 
Psyche 
[September 
Generic relationships. — • The head and metasoma bear a close 
resemblance to those of members of the genus Priocnemisj and I 
would regard this genus as a derivative of a Priocnemis- like stock 
which has undergone many modifications of the thorax as a result 
of loss of flight and the evolution of ant-mimicry. Although the few 
spines at the apices of the tibiae are somewhat splayed out (as in 
Pompilinae), this condition is approached by several other genera 
of Pepsinae, and I would not hesitate to assign this genus to that 
subfamily and to the tribe Cryptocheilini, which is very well repre- 
sented in Australia. 
Iridomimus violaceus, new species 
•. Holotype . — $, south Australia : Port Germein, 28 October 
1969 (H. E. Evans) [to be deposited in the Australian National 
Insect Collections, CSIRO, Canberra]. 
Description. • — -Length 7.5 mm; fore wing 1.5 mm. Body and 
basal parts of legs black, with strong reflections of violet and 
(especially on the metasoma) dark blue-green; tarsi and antennal 
flagellum brownish. Head, thorax, and propodeum with sparse, 
fairly long setae; coxae and to a lesser extent the femora with pale 
setae. Clypeus 3 X as wide as high; first four antennal segments 
in a ratio of about 23:9:30:27, segment three 4.6 X as long as its 
apical width; middle interocular distance .53 X transfacial distance; 
upper interocular distance .64 X lower interocular distance; posto- 
cellar and ocello-ocular distances subequal; temples, in lateral view, 
not nearly as wide as eye. Pronotum smoothly rounded ; meso- 
scutum strongly humped; propodeum smoothly rounded; fore wings 
reaching to about the middle of the propodeum, spatulate, evidently 
supported by a single vein; hind wings scale-like, about 3 X as 
long as wide. Apical tarsal segments without spines beneath, but 
other tarsal segments with short spines in several rows beneath ; 
tibiae smooth, with scattered short spines. (See Fig. 1). 
Iridomimus spilotus, new species 
Holotype. — ■ $, northern territory: Powell Creek, June, 
1947 (no collector given; on a card point, an additional card point 
bearing a worker ant, Iridomyrmex rubriceps Forel). [Australian 
National Insect Collections, CSIRO, Canberra]. 
Description. — Length 6 mm; fore wing 2.3 mm. Head, meso- 
soma, and first metasomal segment predominantly pale ferruginuous ; 
ocellar area covered with a black spot, from which dark streaks 
