N. Banks.
Synopsis of West Coast Cerceridæ (Hymenoptera, Cerceridæ).
Psyche 54:1-35, 1947.

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PSYCHE
VOL. 54 MARCH, 1947 No. 1
SYNOPSIS OF WEST COAST CERCERIS1
(HYMENOPTERA, CERCERIDX)
BY NATHAN BANKS
Holliston, Mass.
The first species of Cerceris described from this area was C. califarnica by Cresson in 1865.
Since then Pro-
vancher described one, Viereck one, Mickel five, and the author several. Having received some additional ma- terial, I have put all in synoptic form. Several species described by Viereck and Cockerel1 from New Mexico occur in southern Arizona, and in a few cases in southern California, so I have included such as I know to occur in southern Arizona.
It has been impossible to be sure in every case to asso- ciate the sexes correctly; in some instances either of two species might belong to one of the opposite sex from what is now known, therefore I have described such forms separately.
In the males I find that the shape of the middle lobe of the clypeus and the breadth of the hair-lobes are very useful. The sculpture of the enclosure, though usually fairly constant in each species, is sometimes variable, so of less value than previously considered by writers. The sculpture of the p-ygidium is less variable, but often sirni- lar in several species ; the general shape of the pygidium, and the crest of hair at sides quite constant, although often differing- in the sexes.
Length and density of hair are also of use. There is
little to be found (so far) in the wing, the length of the pedicel of the second submarginal cell is different in a few 1 Published by a grant from the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Har- vard College.
1
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2 Psyche [Mar.
species. The pale markings are more constant than in many insects; these, and the punctation, and the shape of the clypeal process in the female are of basic importance. In several of the species in this paper, Isolde, femur- rubrum, orestes, thione, the lower part of the outer edge of the lateral lobes is fitted to the edge of the eye for a short distance; this occurs in some of the European species and is the normal condition in the subgenus A pirat rix.
Some have used the number of spines on the hind tibia as of specific value, but in our species it is not dependable. In a few species the males have the ends of the last ventral ridge developed, and provided with blunt teeth. In these species the lateral lobe does not reach the eye. The two subgenera may be distinguished by the follow- ing :
At base of second ventral segment is a slightly area, often semicircular in outline; the stigma of the ..................... fore wings is brown to almost black Apiratrix.
Xo raised area at base of second ventral segment; stigma yellowish to f erruginous ...................................................... Cerce ris. The majority of the species, and all of the larger ones belong to this subgenus.
CERCERIS FEMALES
1. No distinct clypeal process with a free apical edge, or not raised above general surface ................................ 2 A distinct clypeal process, with free apical edge well raised above the general surface of clypeus ........ 6 2. No band on second segment of abdomen ..................... 3 A yellow band on part or whole of second segment .. 4 3. Face below antennae pale yellowish, except the nay- row black lower border of clypeus ; supraclypeal carina very long and high, bands on fourth and fifth segments quite broad .......................................... orestes Face below antennae with much black; the hump on



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clypeus and the outer part of lateral lobes only yellowish, lateral face-marks mostly above clypeus. insolita
Hind femora wholly pale ; abdomen with all segments broadly yellow; venter mostly yellowish, spots on ...................................................................................................... vertex arno
Hind femora black, venter also, and other feniora mostly black ........................................................................................... 5 Small ; with pale band on third ventrite, scape wholly black; first segment small, not equal one-half of second behind ; abdomen coarsely punctate, enclo- ...
sure mostly snlooth, with median groove
melade
Rather large; scape with pale spot below; first seg- ment of abdomen broad, equal to one-half of second behind, enclosure roughened, irregularly striate ; ....................................
abdomen finely punctate denticularis
Clypeal projection in form of a large cone,the base occupying almost all of clypeal surface, tapering above to a point; wings brown, enclosure large, with a smooth pale spot in middle ............ macrosticta Clypeal projection not in form of such a large cone 7 The projection, short,, edge concave, with two mem- braneous plates hanging beneath ; propodeum with or without lateral stripes ........................... femur-rubrum, The projection has no such plates pendent benea,th 8 Clypeus with one or two small pointed teeth a little above lower margin of clypeus ............................................. 9, The process on clypeus is of other shape ....................... 101 Two teeth on clypeus ; very large species, with very broad face .................................................................................... grandis One tooth only on clypeus ; rather small species ; face of normal width ........................................................................ athew All femora largely black, venter black, clypeal process twice as broad as long, not divided, black beneath. mkyesce~zs
Femora not black, if partly black then venter has ,
much yellow ............................................................................................. 11 Very large, almost wholly yellowish or rufous, last joint of antennae wholly black ; second submarginal cell very large, sides strongly convex, pedicel not



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Psyche [Mar.
one-third of height of cell; last segment of abdomen with a sharp tooth each side before end; clypeal process divided into two horns ............................. f rontata Not so wholly yellowish or rufous species ; last joint of antennae partly rufous ; second submarginal cell not so large; scape (first joint) of antennae not twice as long as third joint ............................................... 12 12.
Clypeal process broad, divided into two divergent horns ............................................................................................................... 13 Clypeal process without divergent horns ..................... 15 13.
The separation of horns reaches nearly to base of process ......................................................................................................... 14 The separation reaches hardly more than one-half the length of process; hind femora dark toward tip ; enclosure obliquely striate ........................ euryqnele 14. Venter black, second segment with a median carina; all femora yellow or rufous ; enclosure finel>-, longi- ........................................................................... tudinally striate sexta
Venter with much yellow, no carina on second seg- ment ; front and mid femora black on base ; enclo- sure more coarsely and obliquely striate sextoides 15. Body largely rufous or yellowish; wings quite dark; clypeal process small, lower margin broadly emarginate, and a sharp tooth each side on clypeal margin under the outer corners of elypeal process ; enclosure rufous. punctate on sides ..................... fidelis Enclosure black, striate ..................................................................... 16 16. Hind femora, and others, a nearly uniform rufous or yellow ...................................................................................................... 17 Hind femora pale yellowish, tip black, other femora black on base ; scape black above ...................................... 18 17. Tip of clypeal process well raised above clypeus, sides parallel ; enclosure obliquely st,riate . . . nasica Clypeal process depressed, slight,ly t,apering, tip hardly its breadth above clypeal surface ; enclosure longitudinally striate, scape pale above - ....... vicina 18. Clypeal process, but little elevated, much broader than long, margin broadly truncate ................... varians Clypeal process about as long as broad, subtriangu- lar, tapering to black, well elevated ................. aqualis



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STALES
1. Hind femora pale on base, with a large dark mark near tip ; clypeus truncate below .......................................... 2 Hind femora all dark, all pale, or pale on apical part ..................................................................................................................... 8 2. Yellow bands on abdomen so broad on sides as to leave only a median triangular dark spot in front; clypeus with three teeth below; pygidium partly yellow; hair-lobes little more than twice their breadth apart, venter with complete yellow bands 3 Yellow bands on abdomen not so much broadened on sides, always some black laterally ; pygidium .................................................................................................................. black 5
3. Yellow bands on abdomen deeply indented with black in front, ; hair on.propodeum moderately long ; hair- lobes not as broad as clypeal truncation sextoides Yellow bands on abdomen scarcely indented with rufous, wide throughout; hair on propodeum very long; hair-lobes about as broad as clypeal trunca- tion ..................................................................................................................... 4 4. First segment black, pale on sides; head without rufous; bands on abdomen broad, scarcely in- dented ; enclosure obliquely longitudinally striate ; teeth of clypeus small ................................................... eurgmele First segment rufous, bands sometimes indented with rufous ; back of hea,d with some rufous ; enclosure obliquely striate on sides, behind with short cross striae crossing the median groove ; teeth of clypeus large ...................................................................................................... nasica 5. Hair-lobes not twice their breadth apart .......................... 6 Hair-lobes about three times their breadth apart .... 25 6. Hair on face (from side) very long ; clypeal margin evenly truncate below, no teeth; pygidium plainly narrowed toward base ...................................................... various Hair on face very short; clypeal margin with three teeth below; pygidium not narrowed toward base ; first segment broader than long ............................................. 7 7. Enclosure strongly longitudinally striate ; second segment band scarcely broader than others; face plainly narrowed above ................................................ (~qncdis



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Psyche [Mar.
Enclosure rather large, swollen, smooth, with mid groove, a few short striae in each corner; band on second segment much broader than others ; face but little narrowed above ................................................... posticata 8. Second abdominal segnient without a pale band, hind femora almost wholly brown to black ......................... 9 Second segment with distinct pale band ....................... 10 9. Face almost wholly pale; band on first segment, pale marks on pronoturn, scut,ellum and often on sides of propodeuni ; venter with some yellowish orestes Face with only narrow lateral marks pale, no band on first segment, no marks on scutellurn nor pro- podeum, lower face wit,li much silvery hair. semiat ra
10. A tuft of yellowish spreading hair at each side of pygidium ; third submarginal cell with rounded .................. sides ; stigma and marginal cell elongate 11
..................
No such tuft of hair each side of pygidiuni 12
11. Face with dense, erect, very long hair, longer than scape, much long hair elsewhere ; yellow bands do not cover the segments at sides; venter black; pro- podeum and abdomen (except bands) black. enalehardti
Face with very short hair, smrcely n~ticea~ble,~ellow bands (except one on second segment) usually cover entire side, venter spot,ted, thorax and ab- domen usually partly ruf ous ...................................... fidelis 12. Enclosure with a smooth pale spot in middle; pygid- ium broader than long; scape and hair lobes long. macrostkta
No such pale area in enclosure, pygidi~~m longer than broad ............................................................................................................... 13 13. Hind femora wholly black at least on inner side, the black of several segments hardly reaches margin ......................................................................................................... 14 Hind femora paler, rufous or yellowish on apical part .................................................................................................................. 15 14. Venter black; the yellow of bands leaves a black crescent ending shortly before lateral rna,rgin. cle+2ticularis




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Venter with yellow spots; yellow of bands leave a somewhat diamond-shaped black mark open only to middle part of front margin ........................ completa 15. Hair-lobes less than the breadth of one apart; yellow of clypeus comes to a point in middle of front edge ; femora rufous, body black with yellowish marks ; ............
abdomen strongly convex transversely tizione Hair-lobes plainly separated by more than breadth of one of them ....................................................................................... 16 16. Tip of antennas black; third joint slender, longer than fourth, marginal cell and stigma very slender ; sec- ond submarginal cell with curved sides ; legs most,ly yellowish to rufous ; second submarginal cell very ...........................
large, face much narrowed in middle
17
Tips of antennae rufous ; face less narrowed; second submarginal cell normal size, pedicel full one-half of cell ............................................................................................................ 18 17. Third antennal joint a little longer than the first (scape) ; face narrowed above, near end of lat,eral face marks becoming wider again, upper side of lateral lobes curved, supraclypeal mark not above antennae ; hair on vertex, thorax and abdomen grey to reddish brown, on face yellowish white; second submarginal cell very large, sides much curved, ...............
pedicel about one-third of cell height
orpJme
Third antennal joint not as long a,s the long scape; face still more narrowed above than in orp?z!ue; upper side of lateral lobes straight; hair on body mostly white to light grey, ventral fringes white, face with snow-white hair; second submarg'inal cell still larger, sides more curved, and pedicel less ,
t,han one-third of cell height ................................... fronta,ta, 18. Third antennal joint much longer than the fourth, and a little longer than the first (scape), fourth joint three times as long as broad; enclosure ob- liquely striate; clypeus impressed above the slightly raised three-toothed margin ; pygidiuni with parallel sides ; abdomen black, with subequal bands above and lateral spots below sexia



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Psyche [Mar.
Third joint not longer than scape; fourth joint not nearly three times as long as broad
19
19. Yellow of clypeus ends below in a point; Tipper side of the triangular lateral lobes is straight: little if any rufous on propodeum or abdomen
20
Yellow of clypeus ends broadly below, and at lower margin; often some rufous on thorax and ab- domen; lateral lobes with upper side curved end- ing in a black comma-mark 21
20. A row of white hair across lower face from eye to eye ; hair-lobes very narrow ; spots on sctitelliun ; enclosure smooth, but anterior corners with a few oblique striae; sometimes lateral spot* on pro- podeum; venter with little if any yellow. femur-rubrum
No row of white hair across lower face; hair-lobes moderately broad, yellow ; no spots on scat ellum ; enclosure with median groove and each side with coarse oblique striae; venter with yellow bands; sternum with rather long, erect white hair vicig~a 21. First segment of abdomen plainly longer than broad; face with lateral lobes wholly pale yellowish; pro- podeum reddish, smooth and shining; clypeal margin slightly rounded, pygidium slender, sides nearly parallel ; lateral spots on venter ferrugi~? 0 r First segment not plainly longer than broad; the dorsal surface usually broader than long 29,
2 . Third joint of antennae plainly longer than fourth, fourth and fifth both rufous; el-ypeus projecting below nearly the height of lateral lobes in a short truncate margin ; pygidium not twice as long as broad in middle, hind tibia has two basal teeth "with an elongate base isolde
Third joint of antennae barely if any longer than fourth, ventral punctate areas reduced to a nar- row row in the middle
23
23. Venter black, trace of rufous on the sides ; clypeal process truncate; propodeum, first, and base of second segment reddish, abdomen slender, the punctate side-lobes of venter much swollen so that



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oe on
they project below, viewed from side ; the sixt,h ventral forms a sloping rounded lobe with several teeth 011 the margin .................................... calodera Venter with yellow spots or bands; the swollen weas are scarcely noticeable from side view; clypeal projection very faintly tridentate, or the margin at least biconcave ............................................................................... 24 24. Lateral face marks reach little above antennae ; rather broad at end, supraclypeal mark also short ; se,utel- lum bla& or at most with small spot each side, pygidium slender, sides nearly parallel ; lateral lobe of sixth segment broadly rounded behind and with two large, black, blunt teeth; and usually some smaller connecting row or ridge with small teeth ; the lateral lobe of fifth segment, though fairly long, also shows sonie small teeth near inner end and ........................................................................ hind border popdo rum
Lateral face marks reach toward top of eyes, supra- clypeal mark extends to anterior ocellus ; sonie- times spots or band on vertex, and a curved mark back of each eye ; scutellum usually broadly yellow- ish or rufous ; propodeum usually wholly rufous, or black ; enclosure large, smooth ; pygidium with the sides convergingtoward tip; the lateral lobe of the venter of sixth segment is broad, convex, and shows several rounded teeth, three on t,he outer corner; lobe of fifth segment has no distinct teeth. illota
25. Enclosure longitudinally striate ........................ nigrescens Enclosure mostly obliquely striate .................. ab b reviat (6 Cerceris macrostieta V. & C.
Viereck and Cockerell, Jour. N. Y. Ent. Soc., 12: 133, 1904.
A female from Tucson, Arizona, July (Bequmt ) . Cerceris frontata Say
Say, West. Quart. Rept., 2: 80, 1823.
Leconte Ed., 1 : 167,1859.
From Flagstaff, Arizona, 29 July (Carpenter) ; Pal-



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10 Psyche [Mar.
merlee, Arizona (Biedermann), and Colton, California (Pilate).
Cerceris sexta Say
Say, Bost. Jour. Nat. Hist., 1: 382, 1837. Leconte Ed., 2 : 763,1859.
This belongs to the group of frontata, but I have not seen it west of Wyoniing and Utah.
Cerceris sextoides sp. nov.
Female. In general similar to sexta (biunguluta) and to ewymele, but the clypeal process is more widely emarginate than in either, and the horns of the process much more slender and sharply pointed, and not at all angulate at the base of the emargination. The markings are similar to those species, the abdomen with a broad band on each segment, emarginate in the middle of the front; the venter is black on the first and basal half of the second segment. Front and mid femora partly black (not in sexta) and the hind femora partly dark above. The hair and sculpture are about as in eurymele. The male is more slender than in eurymele, the second and following segments hardly more than two-thirds as broad as in ewrymele, and the yellow bands are more nar- row; t,he venterhas y-ellow bands or lateral spots, t,he hair lobes not as broad as the clypeal truncation. - The femora of all legs have some black, the hind femora with a large black spot at tip.
Length of $12 nim., of 8 11 to 12 mni.
Holotype $ from Lone Tree, Yakinia River, Wash., 30 June 1882 (S. Henshaw); allotype and paratypes from Nelson's, Yakima River, 4-5 July, and Camp Umatilla, 26 June, both Washington and by Mr. Henshaw; also from Davis, Calif ., 1 July (Bohart), and one ' ' California. " Type M.C.Z. no. 23547.
Cerceris gra~dis Bks.
Banks, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., XXXII: 423, 1913. Type from Ft. Ynma, Arizona.




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Cerceris eurymele sp. nov.
Female.
Black, face below antennae pale yellowish, the front edge of the clypeal process slightly reddish, the lateral spots extend a little above antennae, basal half of mandibles yellowish, a large elongate spot back of the eyes and basal joint of antennas yellow, the next four joints and the last joint pale rufous, others dull black; two spots on pronotuni, tegulae, small spot on pleura be- low tegulae, postscutelluni, and a stripe each side on pro- podeum yellow. Abdomen with two large spots, almost touching, on first segment; second, third, and fourth with a broad band, occupying almost entire width except a rather square black space in middle of front margin, band on fifth segment also broad, but without indenta- tion ; sides of apical segment yellow, and venter with four