172 Annals of the South African Museum. 



Habitat. South Africa. 



Holotype, ^ , Wiuterhoek Mountains, Tulhagh, Cape Colony, alti- 

 tude 3600 ft., 1916 (E. M. L.). 



Type in the South African Museum. 



GEN. NEPHKOTOMA, Meigen. 



1803. Illiger's Mag., vol. 2, p. 262. 



1834. Macquart, Hist. Nat. des Insect. ; Dipt., vol. 1, p. 88 



(Pachyrrhina}. 



The South African species of this difficult genus are still not well 

 understood. There are eleven described species that may be considered 

 regional, five of which (aurantiaca, Macquart, petiolata, Macquart, 

 delegorguei, Macquart, crocea, Loew, and capensis, Rondani) are 

 apparently very closely related, and I have been unable to distinguish 

 them satisfactorily ; they belong to the group of species with black 

 thoracic stripes and the intermediate abdominal tergites with black 

 markings of various shapes and greater or less extent. To determine 

 these species accurately it will be necessary to have an abundance of 

 material and to study the type-specimens where they are in existence. 

 Unfortunately most of the species were described from female speci- 

 mens, which sex shows very few of the necessary specific characters. 



NEPHROTOMA UMBRIPENNIS, sp. n. 



Anteunal flagellum dark brown ; head orange-yellow ; thoracic 

 praescutum with the median stripe chestnut margined with black ; 

 scutellum and postuotum pale ; pleura spotted yellow and pale 

 reddish ; abdomen with the basal tergites unmarked medially ; wings 

 suffused with brownish ; m-cu cross-vein beyond the fork of M ; Rs 

 somewhat elongated ; cell M l sessile. 



Male. Length 14 - 4 mm. ; wing 15'3 mm. 



Frontal prolongation of the head short, pale yellow ; palpi In-own. 

 Antennae moderate in length, the scape yellow, the second segment a 

 little darker ; first flagellar segment pale basally, passing into dark 

 brown at the tip ; remaining segments dark brownish-black on the 

 basal swelling, the pedicels dark brown ; first flagellar segment 

 elongated, longer than the combined scape ; remaining flagellar 

 segments deeply incised beyond the basal swelling. Head orange, 

 the occipital mark dark brown, very large, sending its anterior angle 

 far up on to the frontal tubercle. 



Pronotum dull yellow medially. Mesouotal praescutum dull yellow 

 with three stripes ; median stripe rich chestnut-brown, broadly 



