H. G. Fall.
A New Species of Dicælus from Southern Florida.
Psyche 39:19-20, 1932.

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19321 A New Species of Dicaslus 19
female emerged on the same day, and a third female on the 7th; two males emerged on the 8th. All five speci- mens apparently developed from a single larva of the Polistes.
Explanation of Plate 1.
Fig. 1. Nest of Polistes incertus Cress., from Punta de 10s Cocos, Cienfuegos, Cuba.
Fig. 2. The same, showing back of comb.
Fig. 3. Nest of Polistes cubensis Lep., from Punta Pasa Caballo, Cienfuegos.
Fig. 4. Nest of Polistes cubensis Lep., from Guabairo, Central Soledad, Cienfuegos.
A NEW SPECIES OF DICELUS FROM SOUTHERN
FLORIDA
BY H. C. FALL
Tyngsboro, Mass.
Dicaelus darlingtoni n. sp.
Size, form and general aspect similar to purpuratzis. Form oblong, moderately elongate ; body beneath and head black, prothorax and elytra with deep purpureo-violaceous lustre, becoming rarely slightly bluish, opaque. Head vari- able in size, the difference being largely sexual in nature; in several measured examples of each sex the ratio of its width to that of the thorax being about .67 in the female and .63 to .64 in the male.
Prothorax about three-fifths as long on the median line as the maximum width ; sides convergent apically, typically perceptibly sinuate behind the middle, but varying to con- tinuously arcuate and subparallel posteriorly, the base an- Pu&e 39:19-20 (1932). hup ttpsychu einclub orgIW39-019 html



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20 Psyche [ March
gles rectangular with rounded vertices ; thickened side mar- gins slightly wider and better defined than in purpuratus. Elytral intervals distinctly alternating in convexity, the summits of the more convex intervals narrowly blackish and slightly shining. In purpuratus the discal intervals are of uniform convexity; the seventh is cariniform in both species.
Length 22 to 25 mm.; width 9 to 10 mm.
A good series of specimens is before me, all taken at Homestead, Florida, in June 1928 and '29 by Mr. P. S. Darlington, Jr., to whom I take pleasure in dedicating the species. The type, a Q , and several paratypes remain in my own collection, several paratypes also in Mr. Dar- lington's collection.
Although most nearly like purpuratus in general fades, in the character of the elytral intervals this species agrees more nearly with quadratus, to which it would be traced in Horn's table of the genus (Bull. Brook. Ent. Soc. 1880, p. 51). Quadratus is however an evidently more robust species, the prothorax relatively larger with sides more nearly continuous with those of the elytra, giving a dis- tinctly more oval outline. In the few specimens seen the violaceous surface tint is less developed than in darlingtoni. The tendency toward a greater development of the head in the female is also observable in my series of D. splendi- dus, and suggests that Casey9s D. speciosus, said to closely resemble splendidus except for its smaller head, is really that species. The fact that Casey's specimens were all males is confirmative evidence.




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