1949] 
Hull — Genus Volucella 
39 
Volucella scintillans n. sp. 
A brilliant metallic green and purple species. Related 
to earnestina Curran. Characterized by the black pile 
on the base of the apex of abdominal segment and the 
brown spot on the small cross vein of the wing, besides 
other differences. Length 9 mm. 
Male. Head: face rather deeply projecting, brilliant 
metallic green above, bluish violet below. The cheeks 
have a large yellowish triangle and are metallic behind. 
There is a double band of pale yellow pubescence run- 
ning from the eye margin two-thirds of the way to the 
epistoma. These bands are separated by the posterior 
border of the metallic blue part of the face ; the second 
band lies, therefore, on the yellowish triangle of the 
cheeks. There is a thick band of white pollen extending 
from each eye margin beneath the antennae and thence 
in the middle down almost to the center of the tubercle. 
The facial pile is fine and white and rather sparse. The 
front and vertex are metallic green; the frontal pile is 
white except for a few black hairs; the vertical pile is 
longer and black. The antennae are elongate and yel- 
lowish brown. Third antennal segment perhaps a little 
darker in the middle and very slightly concave in the 
middle dorsally. The arista is yellowish brown, becom- 
ing darker apically and has about twenty-five rays. The 
eyes are widely touching, the upper facets only moder- 
ately enlarged, the ocular pile thick and nearly white in 
color. Thorax: the mesonotum and scutellum are bril- 
liant metallic green with faint brassy reflections, only 
the humeri being yellowish brown in color. On the noto- 
pleura and all of the pleura except the metapleura the 
color deepens until it is a deep purplish blue over most 
of the pleura with less of a greenish reflection. The pile 
of the mesonotum and scutellum is entirely black with 
only a few pale hairs behind the humeri and a few more 
behind the transverse suture. The scutellum has a deep, 
preapical depression and four pairs of long, black 
bristles. Squamae brownish white with a round dark 
brown spot; they are brown pilose on the outer edge of 
the upper squamae; squamal fringe dark sepia brown. 
