1970] 
Alatthews & Evans — Sericophorus 
425 
long spinules, medially and apically, these tending to converge 
toward the midline; extreme sides of epipharynx with only short, 
sparse spinules (Fig. 13). Mandibles approximately twice as long 
as their basal width, terminating in five teeth, the basal two smaller 
than the apical three; base of mandibles with a single seta (Fig. 14), 
Maxillae directed mesad, their inner margin somewhat lobed, strongly 
spinulose; palpi large, about 80 jjl in length; galeae very much 
smaller than palpi, only about 25 /x in length (Fig. 15). Apical 
portion of labium circular, bearing two patches of long spinules on 
its oral surface; palpi about 70 [i long, slightly exceeded by the 
spinnerets. 
In larvae removed from cocoons after passing their meconium, 
the body is much more compact, the segments being shortened but 
with very strong pleural lobes and transverse dorsal elevations; the 
anterior part of the body is curved strongly and pressed against the 
venter, the head being invisible or nearly so. Head features are 
unchanged except that the maxillae and labium are somewhat flat- 
tened and the spinnerets difficult to detect. 
The larvae agree well with the characters of the Larrinae as 
defined by Evans (1958, 1964). In features of the epipharynx, Seri- 
cophorus approaches Liris most closely, and there is good agreement 
in general form of the body and head with that genus. In the 
artificial key to sphecid larvae (Evans, 1959, p. 1 7 1 ) the larva of 
Sericophorus runs reasonably smoothly to Aiotes (i.e., Liris). How- 
ever, the described larvae of Liris have a much more hirsute body 
and a non-emarginate labrum. There is a reasonably close resem- 
blance to the larvae of such genera of Miscophini as Lyroda and 
Plenoculus , but those genera have more finger-like prothoracic lobes 
and a different arrangement of generally much shorter spinules on 
the epipharynx. The larvae of these four genera show no really im- 
portant differences and do not reflect the major differences in nesting 
behavior among them. 
Cocoon. — 'Cocoons measure 12-14 mm long by 5.5-6. 5 mm maxi- 
mum width ; they are rounded at both ends but very slightly more 
tapered toward one end than the other (Fig. 17). The walls are 
composed of soil particles glued together to form a thin, brittle 
case; there is no silken lining and there are no evident pores in the 
walls (as there are in Bembicini). The soil grains are evidently 
fastened together with viscid strands of silk. The walls of the cocoon 
are relatively smooth on the inside, quite rough on the outside. 
Natural Enemies. — The nyssonine wasp, Acanthostethus port- 
