Genus 2. Prosopis, Fabricius.
([Plate I.] fig. 2 ♂ ♀.)
Melitta * b, Kirby.—Hylæus, Latreille.
Gen. Char.: Head transverse, flattish; ocelli in an open triangle on the vertex; antennæ geniculated, the basal joint of the flagellum as long as the second, and both subclavate, the rest of the joints short and equal; face flat, slightly protuberant between the insertion of the antennæ, and distinguished from the clypeus by a suture; clypeus transversely quadrate, slightly widening gradually to the apex, marginate; labrum transverse, obovate, fringed with setæ; mandibles broad at apex, tridentate; cibarial apparatus short; tongue broad, subemarginate and fringed with short hair; paraglossæ very slightly longer than the tongue, their apex broadly rounded and fringed with hair; labial palpi as long as the tongue, joints subequal, gradating in substance, subclavate; labium about as long as the tongue, pyramidal at its apical inosculation; maxillæ about as long as the tongue, slightly lanceolate, fringed with short hair; maxillary palpi rather longer than the maxillæ, with six joints, the basal joint robust and slightly constricted in the middle, the third joint linear and the longest, the remainder gradually decreasing in length and substance.
Thorax subquadrate; prothorax transverse, linear, angulated at the sides; mesothorax with its bosses protuberant; scutellum and post-scutellum semilunulate; metathorax abruptly truncate, and longitudinally carinated in the centre; wings with two submarginal cells, a third slightly indicated, the first recurrent nervure springing from the extreme apex of the first submarginal cell, closely to the first transverso-cubital nervure, and the second closely before the termination of the second submarginal cell; stigma of the wing large and distinct; legs wholly destitute of polliniferous hair, the terminal joint of the tarsus as long as the two preceding; claws bifid; Abdomen subtruncate at the base, subconical with a downward bias.
The MALE differs in having the mandibles distinctly bidentate, the external tooth acute; the antennæ are very slightly longer and more curved, and their colouring is more intense and more widely distributed. These insects are glabrous, generally intensely black, dull on the head and thorax, but shining on the abdomen, and are more or less thickly punctured, and they are usually gaily marked with yellow, citron, or red, especially on the face, thorax, and legs.
NATIVE SPECIES.
1. annulatus, Fab., ♂ ♀. 2½-3 lines.
annulatus, Kirby.
2. dilatata, Kirby, ♂. 3 lines. ([Plate I.] fig. 2 ♂.)