ON THE SPECIES OF SPHENOPHORUS HITHERTO CON

Sphenophorus

distichlidis, ^n. sp.

Similarto

mormon

withwhich^itagrees ^{in the} structure of therostrum and, _{nearly, in}the sculpture of the elytra. ^It averages ^{a little} smaller, withtheentiresurface subopaque, and^{with the}legs and less frequently the _elytraandthorax rufous or piceous.

The

punctua'ion ^is feeble,not so strongon the thorax, metasternum or abdominal segments ^{as in sim} plex.

The

tibiaeare lessangulateand

more

finely fimbriate,andtheante riortibiaearenormally withoutinside serration.

Male. Firstand second abdominal segments moderately^distinct; pos teriortibias

more

strongly angulateandfimbriate.

Female. Firstand second abdominal segments connateor nearly ^{so at} the middle; posterior ^tibiae feeblyangulate and _finelyand sparsely fim briate.

Length

8.5-11 5

mm;

^width3.2-4.0

mm.

Amedee,

Cal.,

4,200

^ft,

July

11-28, 1903. Collected

by Mr.

H. F. Wickham who

has kindly presented ^a

good

^{series to the}

National Museum on

Distichlidis spicata, ^a

maritime

_grass

which grows

^{in salt}

^{marshes and}

saline spots.

Type. No.

_7878,

U.

S.

National Museum.

Sphenophorus simplex ^LeConte.

In this species the

normal

_{shining jet} black color is varied

by

individuals

with more

or less rufous _legs,

and

the _elytra are frequently piceous ⁱⁿ evidentlyfully

developed specimens. One

otherwise deep

black individual

with

_{velvety elytra} has the base of the_elytra

and

the _legsbright rufous. In the smallest individ uals there are

fewer rows

of punctulations ⁱⁿ the elytral intervals than in the _larger.ones,

and

in the

specimen

^last

mentioned

_they are so

minute

as to

be almost

indistinguishable.

The _following

^is

^added

^{to the}

recorded

_locality list:

In California:

Palm

_Springs,

_February

2, 17

(H. ^G. Hubbard), Los Angeles (D. W.

Coquillett),

Panamint

_Valley,

_April

₁₉

_(A.

Koebele), Harold, March

₃₁

_{(A. B.}

_Eells),

_{San Diego}

_(G.

H.

Field). In

Utah

^: Salt

Lake

City (H. Soltau), Salt

Lake, June

14

(Hubbard and Schwarz).

ON THE SPECIES OF SPHENOPHORUS HITHERTO CON SIDERED AS PLACIDUS SAY.

By

^F.

^H. CHITTENDEN.

When Thomas _Say

ⁱⁿ his

"

Descriptions of

North American

Curculionides," etc.,* described

Rhynchophorus placidus with

*Complete Writings,

Thomas

Say,etc., Lee. Ed., 1859, ^i, p.290

WASHINGTON. 181

the type locality

" _United

_States^" _{he little}

guessed

^{the trouble} that this

and

other

Sphenophori

^{described at the}

same time would

cause to the Coleopterist of the^future.

This was

in 1831.

When Horn,

in 1873, ^{in his}

Contributions

to a

Knowledge

^of

the Curculionidae of the

United

States*

brought

together

under Sphenophorus placidus no

less than seven other

names

as

synonyms,

^this

merely added

to thetrouble.

By

^careful study of

many specimens,

^described

and

undescribed, ^that

might

possibly

be

attributed toSay's rectus or

immtinis^

^I

am unable

tofind

any which

fits either description.

The

characterizations of

Gyllen-

hal

and Boheman

in

Schoenherr's work on

the Curculionidae are equally^difficultof elucidation,

and from

all the

circumstances

in the case I feel

convinced

that

only two

_{species of} this

group can

rightfully retain the older

names, namely, venatus Say ^and

reticulaticollis

Boheman. The

latter is described

from u

Cali fornia"

which,

^{at the}

time

of itsdescription,

included

a

much

larger territory than at present,

and

this locality

and

the descrip tion

might _very

^well be perpetuated ^{for a} species

which

^I

have

assigned ^{to that}

name.

Several species

have been

_present for years ⁱⁿ collections

under

the

name

of

placidus,

ⁱⁿ

accordance with Horn's

definition,

which

is, in brief, all

Sphenophori

^of

^our

fauna

having

^a

u

slight fossa^at theanterior

median

portion of the thorax

immediately behind

the apical constriction."

The

writer has

been

able to

bring under

^{this characterseven} species

which cannot be placed

^{elsewhere. All}

appear

^to

be

_quite distinct,

with

the possible

exceotion

of _vcstitus^

which

is very ^different

from venatus when we _{compare specimens}

of the

former from

Florida

and

of the latter

from New _England

or

Long

^Island.

There

is a possibilityof gradation ⁱⁿ

an

intermediate _locality,

but

this has

not been

discovered.

Still

an

eighth species

which

has

been

very generally

included under placidus

^has

been

studied,

and

this

proves

^to

belong

^to

an

entirely different

group.

^It

may ^be

distinguished

from any

species of the

venatus group by

^its

naked _body, much

_longer,

perfectly cylindrical

rostrum with rounded

apex, longer legs, thorax

more narrowed

anteriorly,

broader

thoracic _vittae, divided apical ^fossa,

and

punctuation,

which

will

be

defined inthe spe cificdescription, ^as well as sexual characters. It is peculiar ^to the

Gulf

_region. The"

following

^brief analysis of the

venatus group

^follows:

VENATUS

group.

Rostrum

short, strongly and uniformly compressed, moderately ^or strongly arcuate; apexsubtruncate, produced ⁱⁿ acute point posteriorly (sometimesabraded).

*Proc.

Am.

Phil. Soc.,p. 426, 1873.

Thoraxwith distinct apical fossa not divided inthe middle;

more

or less trivittate, vittaehalfor lessthe length of thorax;medianvittausually Y-shaped,^eitherenclosing theapical fossaorappearing^{as atuberclebe} hind it; lateral vittaeoblique, divergent towardbase of thorax.

Vestiture alutaceous, profuse or ^scant.

Third _jointtarsi^: anterior,

+

; middle, ^; posterior, wider than firstjoint.

A

_synoptictable of the seven species

which _belong

to this

group

^follows:

a Thoracicvittae

and

apical fossawelldefined.

b

Rostrum

_moderatelyarcuateand compressed,distinctly canaliculate atbase. Coating^scant and_easilyabraded, not coveringlower surfaceorsides.

c Dorsal surface stronglyand coarsely punctate. Elytral sur face normally without inequalities; intervals alternately strongly and less strongly^elevated. Medio-basal portion ofthorax _coarsely, moderately ^confluent.

Lower

surface finely, sparsely punctate. N. E. toTex... venatus Say

cc Dorsalsurface

more

_{coarsely.punctate,usuallystrongly}con fluent. Elytral^surfacevery unequal, interrupting^striaeand intervals.

Lower

surface less finely punctate. Oregon.

coiiftuens,n. sp.

bb

Rostrum

_shorter,

more

arcuate and compressed,^{at base coated.}

Thoracicvittaenarrow. Coating thin, velvety, covering most of the body.

Lower

surfacecoarsely punctate.

Thorax

_strongly convex. Vittae with shallow punctures,

much

finer than on

interspaces. Fla.,

La

_vestitus,n. sp.

bbb

Rostrum

notcoated. Thoracicvittaewide,black.

c Mostlyblack but with patchesonbaseof rostrum, thoraxand elytra often piceous. Thoracic vittae broad, punctures deeper, scarcely^fineronvittaethanon interspacesandelse

where. N.

M

neomexicanus, ^n. sp.

cc

Thorax

variable, red,

brown

or black, elytrarufous or _light dull brown. Thoracic vittse still widec, _finely punctate.

Ariz., Cal .ptaemtcitnsis, n. sp.

aa Thoracicvittaeusuallyfeeblydeveloped.

b Reddish, ^surface coating moderately ^dense,gray ^or red, thin or velvety. Scutellum shining ^black.

Pygidium 9

^moderately narrowed toapex. ^First abdominal segment

$

distinctlycon cave. Cal., N. M., D. C.,

Tex

reticulaticollis

Boheman

bb Black, surface coatinggray^orbrown,thickandfelt-like,covering

v nearly the^entirebody. Scutellumcoated.

Pygidium

^strongly narrowed toapex. ^Firstabdominal segment

$

^{flator scarcely}

concave.

Tex

coacforum, _{n. sp.}

WASHINGTON. 133

Sphenophorus ^venatus Say.

Rhynchophorusvenatus Say, Descr. N. A. Curculionides,_{p. 22, 1831};

Compl. Writings, Lee. Ed.,i, p. 290, 1859

Sphenophorusplacidus Say, Descr. N. A. Cure.,p. 23, 1831; Lee. Ed., p. 290, 1859; Horn, Proc.

Am.

Phil. Soc.,

xm,

p. 426, 1873;

Forbes, ^i6th Rept. ^St. Ent. Ills.,^f. iSSy-'SS (1890), pp. 62, 65,70;

22d Rept. ^St. Ent. Ills.,p. 8, 1903.

Rhynchophorus ^rectus Say, Descr. N.A. Cure.,p. 22, 1831;

Compl.

Writings, Lee. Ed., ^i, p. 290, 1859.

Rhynchophorus immunis Say, ^{1. c.,} p. 23; p. 290.

Sphenophorusconfusus Gyllenhal, Schonherr, Gen. ^Cure.,iv, p. 944, 1837(fide Horn).

Sphenophorusfallax

Boheman,

^1. c.,vin, No. 2, p. 256. 1845 (fide

Horn).

The

distribution as well as salient characters are furnished in the table.

Even with

these

synonyms ^and

^{otherseliminated it is}

still a

very

^variable

form.

Sphenophorus confluens,

^n. sp.

Form

and sizeof veuatus, from which and all others of^this group ^it

differs by^{the entire surface} being

more

_coarselyand strongly punctate, and by ^{other characters} which will be enumerated. Black, with dark

brown

pruinose coating evident ^at the sides and mostly abraded on ^the dorsum.

Rostrum

short, strongly compressed, obliquely truncate and produced ^{in acute point} posteriorly^as in vestitus. Base _verystrongly and coarsely punctate, with interocular puncture ^{in the} form ofavery irregularvariable fossa, terminating anteriorly before or ^{a little} beyond the dilated portion above the scrobes in abroad ill-defined acuminate channel. Thoracic vittse,

owing

^to strong and coarse punctuation,^are feebly defined,the spacebetween foveate-punctateand strongly confluent.

Elvtral punctures so strong ^{as to}be subconfluent and often confluent transversely, producing ^withanatural uneven surfaceof the intervals a decided inequality of the entire surface. Sutural andthird intervalswith strongtendency^{to a}double seriesof fine punctures most ^{evidentat the} base.

Portland,

Oregon

⁽ⁱ

^, H.

F.

Wickham)

^; Corvallis,

Oregon, April

25,

May

^2,

June

9, Oct.

(A.

^B.

Cordley)

^;

''Oregon"

(H. Ulke).

Type. No.

_7908,

U.

S.

National Museum.

The

_large

deep punctures

^{of the entire dorsal} surface,

and _par

ticularly of the _elytra,

produce an unevenness which _impart

to this insect

an appearance

quite ^different

from

all others in

our

fauna.

It is

probably

quite

common

in

Oregon, although

^{not well} distributed in collections.

134

Sphenophorus vestitus,

^n. sp.

Closely^{related to} venatus,

more

_robust; surface with a dense, rather thin,

more

or less olive-tinted or

brown

alutaceous coating,which nor mally completely ^{covers the entire dorsal surface} except the thoracic vittse, rostrum, head, and portions of the legs,the lower surface except themiddleof themetasternum, and thefirstand lastabdominal_segments, the excepted portionsbeing polished ^black.

Rostrum more

arcuate and compressed, with ^{the basal dilated} portion normally ^coated.

Thorax

scarcely longer than wide, punctures betweenvittae frequently^confluent.

Lower

surfacemoderatelycoarselyand densely punctate. ^First

abdomi

nal segment

$

distinctlynarrowly concave^atmiddle, leavinganelevated portioneach side; last segmentwith punctures forming ^{a shallowfossa} atapex.

Length

9-10

mm;

^width3.3-4.3

mm.

Sebastian,

March

_7,

_Capron, March

_22, Enterprise,

May

9, 23,

and Indian

River, Fla.

(Hubbard and Schwarz)

^;

Jackson

ville,Fla.,

March ₃₀

to

May

23

(Wm. H. Ashmead)

;

Gulf View and

Biloxi, Miss., Oct. 9

(H.

^{Soltau) ;}

Savannah, Ga. (Hubbard and Schwarz)

;

New

Orleans, La.,

March

_14,Oct. 26

(H.

Soltau);

" La."

Type. No.

_7903,

U.

S.

National Museum.

The Florida specimens

^are typicalof the description furnished, asarealso the

specimens from

Mississippi

and

a portion

from

Louisiana.

Some

^{of the}

remainder show

a

tendency toward venatus.

Sphenophorus neomexicanus,

^n. sp.

Of

similarform tovenatus but considerably smaller, black,with base of rostrum, thorax and _{elytra frequently} reddish. Surface coating velvety gray^or brown, scarcelycoveringhalf the body.

Rostrum

with shallow fossa atbase not coaled.

Thorax

_feeblyconvex, subquadrate with_apical fossa deep,^vittae elevated, broad and _shining, a little

more

_finelyand deeply punctatethaninterspacesand sideswhicharecoveredwith_coating.

Scutellum_{black, shining,}concave ordivided atmiddle. Elytrapartially coveredwith_{coating, leaving sutural,}and base ofthird, fourthand fifth intervals, a large humeral and subapical spot black and _shining; striae rather fine; interval puncturesdistinct, large, roundand remotelyplaced (exceptsutural).

Lower

surfacewith sparse coatingonsides_; sometimes bare,abdominal segments nearly uniformly,finelyand

somewhat

_densely punctate. Ventral concavity

$

very shallow, scarcely deeper ^at middle offirstabdominal. Pygidial characters as in reticulaticollis.

Length

6.0-7.5

mm.;

width _2.2-3.0

mm.

Albuquerque, N. _{M., Feb.}

12, 16

(H.

Soltau).

Type. No.

_7904,

U.

S.

National Museum.

It will be noticed that the

above

described species

was

col-

WASHINGTON. 135

lected in the

same

_locality

and on

the

same _days

as reticulaticol-

lis,

but

the

two

_species

have

a distinct habitus

and may ^be

easily separated, there

being no

intergradation ⁱⁿ the large ^series

ex amined.

Sphenophorus phceniciensis,

^n. sp.

Form

^{similar to} -uestitus, smaller,ventral _surface, head and rostrum shining^black, antennaeand tarsi piceous^; thorax variable, red,brown,^or black, usually brighter on the sides of episterna; ^vittaa shining ^black;

elytrarufousor_{dull light}brown. Dorsal surfaceand sidescovered with alutaceous coating,entirely grav or yellowish gray on ^sides, and _pale reddish on_elytra.

Rostrum

halfas long ^as thorax, moderately^arcuate and compressed, surface rather strongly and _{finely punctate, especially} at base; base strongly^dilated, suddenly above ^scrobes,

where

it isacutely angled; ^in- terocularfossa pyriform^; no channel; ^butashort impressed^lineextend ing^infrontofdilated portion.

Apex

divided anteriorlybya slightly ele vatedline,posteriorlystronglyand_{acutelyproduced.}

Thorax

with constriction nearly^as wide as long; apical constriction strong; posteriorthree-fifthsofremainder subparallel orslightlyarcuate;

pattern of surface similar^to venatus,apical fossadeep. ^Vittaevery wide, occupying fully half the disc of thorax,shining black, slightly elevated,

somewhat

_finelyand sparsely punctate, ^lateralconfluent with median_just

in frontof middle. Interspacescoarsely, rather sparselyand irregularly punctate,^sides near lateral vitteealso sparsely but

more

_{finelypunctate,} on lateralmargin

becoming more

^{dense. Scutellum flat,}shining, ^decliv ousatbase.

Elytra ^one-fifthwider than thorax, one-fourth longer than wide, rather strongly acuminate to apex. ^Striae fine, finely and remotely punctate.

Intervals unequal ⁱⁿ width, subequal ⁱⁿ convexity; 3 widest and

most

elevated, biseriatelypunctate^; theremainderuniseriately punctate; ivery finely, punctures closely placed; humeral and _subapical callosities small and smoothlyshining.

Lower

surface

somewhat

_denselycoated,but not

more

than half covered at the _sides; abdominal segments nearly uni formly,finely and

somewhat

densely punctate, ^alittle

more

_finely thanat thesides. Legsfinelyand sparsely punctate. ^Tibiaesparselyand_feebly fimbriate on inner surface; anterior tibiaewith outer angle slightlypro longed, others obliquelytruncate,with inner angle acutelyproduced^into alongspur; subapical spur ^distinct but only about ^{one-fourth as} long.

Pygidium

^{with coarse, shallow} punctures,

somewhat

_{densely placed,} coated with very short silvery hairs, withminutetufts eachsideof apex, which ismoderately narrowed and ^rounded.

As

the

above

description

was drawn

_entirely

from female

ex

amples, and

the male,

which

has

been

recently received, ^is rep resented

by

^a single

specimen,

^{the sexual} differences

may ^be

found

less striking

with more

material for

comparison.

Male.

Lower

surface

more

_{strongly punctate; especially} in ventral concavitywhich is moderatelydeep, strongly sloping toward the _center, especially in the metasternum; pygidium subpentagonal ^with rounded base.

Female.

Pygidium

narrower, base^less broadly rounded.

Length

7.0-7.2

mm

; width _2.5-2.9

mm.

Phoenix, Ariz.,

and "Arizona"

_{(i tf,}

3?

9, ^Colls.

H.

C. Fall

and Chas. Palm); ^Fresno,

Cal.,

May

^{21 (i 9,}

^{Hubbard and}

Schwarz).

Type. No

_7905,

U.

S. National

Museum.

Although

closely

resembling

^{in a} superficial

manner

others of the

venatus group,

^this species

has very pronounced

characters,

showing some

affiliation to

neomexicanus. From

thelatter it is

separable

by

^{its finer}

punctuation

alone, besides

being more

robust, ^its proportions

resembling

^{those ofvestitus. It is not}

improbable

that the coloration ofthe species

may vary

^still

more,

since

none

of the

specimens examined

aretrue to

any

type^;

and

itis also

probable

^thatthe

same

species extends ^into

Mexico.

Sphenophorus

reticulaticollis

Boheman.

Of

the

same

formas vena/us, a little smaller; body^{dull red,} rostrum (exceptfossa at base),femora, ^tibiaeandocciput black; ^surfacewitha soft velvety natural alutaceous coating,mostly ^red on the dorsal surface and gray on ^thesides, completely covering^{the dorsal} surface, except portions of the thoracic vittse, the scutellum, humeral, and _subapical callosities, not covering the metasternum and middle of abdomen. Punctuationof entire surface of body ^distinct and rather dense; on ^thorax, which ^is feeblyconvex, nearlyuniformand but little finer on the _feeblyelevated

and

_verynarrow vittae; on _elytra strial punctures large, interval punc turesvery^fineand _obscure, onsutural intervals minute and_veryclosely placed.

Metasternum

and first abdominal segment nearty uniformly sparsely foveate-punctate, second abdominal but littlecoarserthanthird and fourth. In

$

^the ventral concavity ^is shallowbut moderatelydeep in themiddleof the firstabdominal, and^the pygidium^issubquadrangular withapex^{rounded. In} 9 pygidium^is

somewhat

_pentagonal withminute lateraltufts.

Length

7.5-9.5

mm;

^width2.8-3.6

mm.

Palm

_Springs, Cal.,

July

²

(Hubbard and Schwarz)

^;

Los An

geles Co.,^Cal.

(D. W.

Coquillett) ^;

Albuquerque, N. _{M., Feb.}

12.

16

(H.

Soltau) ^;

Del Rio,

Tex.,

July

23, 24,

955

^ft.

(H.

^F.

Wick- ham)

^;

Washington, ^D.

C.,

August

9, 1881

(Th. Pergande).

Sphenophorus coactorum,

^n. sp.

Form

similartovenatus,black, with thick palegray or

brown

natural coating,^felt-likeand persistent,almost completely covering the^surface, including the head andbase of the rostrum, femora,mostofthetibiaeand

the entire dorsal _surface, the thorax except^a small black patch on the proepimera,anotheronthe middleof the metathorax, the

abdomen

_except those small black areason the middleof thefirst and last segments and the anteriorhalfof the second. Itpartiallyobscures the_elytral punctua tionbut not thethoracic.

Thorax

nearlyuniformlypunctate, ^{lateralvittae} indistinct, apex ^of

median

sometimes _{exposed,apical} fossa

more

orless indistinct. Scutellum coated.

Pygidium $

subquadrate, rounded each side of apex, of

9

subtriangular, about one-fourth longer than wide.

Metasternumvery coarsely sparsely foveate-punctate,remainderof ventral surface rather coarsely sparsely punctate, very sparse on second,third and fourthabdominal. Ventral concavity

$

very shallow, scarcely^differ entfrom _9-

Length

7.0-9.5

mm;

^width 2.5-3.8

mm.

Edinburg, Texas

_(Coll.

Chittenden)

^;

Brownsville, Texas, July (H.

^F.

Wickham)

^;

"Tex."

Type. No. 796? ^U.

^S.

^National Museum.

No

other species

known

to the writeras inhabiting the

United

States is

provided with such

^a

dense

felt-like covering.

NEW DIPTERA FROM INDIA AND AUSTRALIA.

By ^D. W. CoqyiLLETT.

Mr. George Compere,

^{a native of this}

country and

for several years

an

inspector of ^fruit pests ^at

Los _Angeles,

California,

but

at present the

government entomologist

^of

West

Australia, ^re cently transmitted ^to Dr. L.

O. Howard,

^for

naming, ^an

^interest ing^seriesof

bred

insects

from

that

country and

India, the

Diptera

of

which were

_assigned to the writer for study

and

_report.

An

extended

search

through

^{the literature of these}

and

the

neighbor

ing regions

has

failed toreveal

any

descriptions applicable ^tofive of thespecies,

and

in the belief that they are ^asyet undescribed, they are

duly

characterized

herewith

:

Family TACHINID^.

Tachina psychidivora,

^n. sp.

Black, theface,cheeks, palpi, scutellum,and frontangles of thesecond and third segments ^{of the}

abdomen,

yellow. Vertex _nearlyas wide as either eye, sides of front yellowish graypruinose, the ^faceand cheeks white, noorbitalbristles, frontalsdescending on ^sidesofface halfway^to the vibrissaB,thelattersituated distinctlyabove thefrontedge^{of the oral} margin, ridgesbristly

halfway

^{tothe lowest frontal bristle,cheeks}

more

than one-fourthaswideas the eye height; antennae three-fourths^as long astheface, thethird joint broad, nearlv three times as long ^{as the sec-}