392 
INDIA 
brought insects of several orders to the little puddles that were all 
that was left of several of the watering places. Among these the 
Hymenoptera were in great force. 
The steely-blue Sceliphron bengalense, the black, yellow-legged 
S. intrudens, and the smaller S. coromandelicum, Lepel., were all 
more or less common, the latter was also taken by my wife in the 
Eugby Hotel. Eumenes flavopicta , the small black and yellow 
E. 'punctata , Sauss., the large yellow E. petiolala, Fabr., and E. 
edwardsii, Sauss., were only met with by ones or twos. Two Vespa 
cincta , larger and darker than Ceylon specimens, were taken at 
Charlotte Lake. Several fcaria ferruginea , a fine example of Sphex 
splendidum, Fabr., with its big head, yellow wings, and metallic 
violet abdomen; Pseudagenia hlanda , Guer., blue with red hind 
femora; 1 a Notogonia that may be new, since it is not to be found in 
the National Collection, nor in Col. Bingham’s book; a Nomia and a 
Crabro also occurred. Then there were Apis dorsata and A. indica, 
and in addition to all these the distinct grey Pompilus refiexus, Smith, 
with its red abdomen, as well as the two small Fossors, Trypoxylon 
intrudens , Smith, and pileatum , Smith. 
But Aculeates were not entirely confined to muddy puddles; the 
blue, white-banded Podalirius fallax , Smith, preferred Labiate 
flowers, as did Anthidium ordinatum, Smith, and A. ardens, Smith. 
Again the brilliant Podalirius zonatus was found on the white flowers 
of a shrub at Porcupine Point; Crocisa histrio, Fabr., black with 
bluish-white markings, was buzzing about the ground. I do not 
seem to have any note of the exact conditions under which I captured 
Polistes Sagittarius , Sauss., and P. marginalis, var. stigma , Fabr., or 
the metallic blue-green Cuckoo-wasp, Hexachrysis oculata, Fabr., 
with its almost superfluous adornment of a ruby on its abdomen. 
But while I was catching these Wasps I had not the slightest 
idea that along with them I had been taking two species of Ceria —a 
genus of Syrphid Flies bearing a strong resemblance to Conops. Of 
Ceria eumenoides , Saunders, I took seven specimens, it is a good 
mimic of more than one of the wasps with which it was associated, 
viz. Icaria ferruginea , Eumenes edwardsii and Polistes marginalis , 
var. stigma . Col. Yerbury tells me that his friend Col. C. G. Nurse 
noticed this striking instance of mimicry at the same place— 
Mather&n—in 1899. [See Plate IV., Figs. 1-6.] 
I also took a male and two females of a yellow and black Ceria, 
which Mr. Austen believes to be a new species. As will be seen 
1 Mr. Shelford writes that this wasp, which also occurs in Borneo, provisions its 
nest with Crickets. 
