The Crane-flies of South Africa (Dipt era, Tipulidae). 159 



for typical bicauda ; the second pair of " tails " described by Dr. Speiser 

 are presumably the sternal valves of the ovipositor. 



The female specimen offers the following measurements : Length 

 13 - 3 mm.; wing 2O2 mm.; fore femur 9'7 mm; hind lemur 15 mm. 

 The abdomen in the specimen at hand is greatly shortened, the inter- 

 mediate segments being crowded and telescoped together, the terminal 

 segment (Plate XIII, fig. 42) elongate, cylindrical-tubular, the tergal 

 valves rather short, curved gently upwards, the apices acute ; sternal 

 valves shorter, straight, and high, the apices rounded to subacute ; 

 along the dorsal margin a groove containing tufts of long pale hairs ; 

 viewed from above the tergal valves are strongly divergent apically, 

 the sternal valves nearly parallel. The wing venation is shown ju 

 Plate XI, tig. 23 ; the colour of the membrane is the peculiar whitish 

 tinge characteristic of the genus ; the apex and the margin around to 

 the first anal vein is indistinctly and very faintly tinged with dusky, 

 small pale brown clouds as follows : origin of the sector ; r-m cross- 

 vein ; apex of CK* and second anal. 



MEGISTOCERA HIRSUTA, sp. n. 



Thoracic praescutum greyish-yellow with four brownish-grey stripes ; 

 thorax with a dense covering of long, pale hairs ; wings without dark 

 markings. 



Male. Length 15 mm. ; wing 20 mm. 



Frontal prolongation of the head moderately long, shiny, shorter 

 than the first anteuual segment in this sex, brownish-yellow, nasus 

 distinct ; palpi yellowish, darkened towards their tips. Antennae with 

 the scapal segments brownish-yellow, the first segment greatly 

 enlarged, the flagellum broken. Head greyish-yellow with a broad 

 median chestnut area. 



Thoracic dorsum greyish-yellow, the praescutum with four brownish- 

 grey stripes of which the median pair are the longest ; the thoracic 

 interspaces are reddish ; remainder of the thorax pale whitish, the 

 scutellum and postnotum with a delicate reddish median line. Thorax 

 with a dense covering of long, pale, erect hairs. Pleura pale with a 

 greyish-white bloom. Halteres slender, brown, yellowish at the 

 extreme base. Legs with the coxae very small, whitish ; trochanters 

 dull yellow ; femora dull yellow, the extreme tip narrowly dark brown ; 

 tibiae similar, the apices brown ; tarsi brownish-yellow. Wings with 

 the peculiar whitish tinge characteristic of the genus, without seams or 

 darker markings on the veins or at the wing-tip. Venation as in 

 Plate XI, fig. 24 ; the stigma is of a much paler shade of brown than 

 in biciunlii, the second anal cell much larger, vein (7?t 1 more sprawly, etc. 



11 



