26 Annals of the South African Museum. 



BOMBYLIUS CAPENSIS, LinUC (1767). 



I refer to this species, which has never been recorded again from the 

 time of the earlier authors, a single female specimen from Namaqua- 

 land, O'Okiep (Cape), September, 1890 (R. M. Lightfoot). It is 

 12 mm. long, with 30 mm. of wing expanse. It is wholly clothed with 

 long, sericeous, whitish hairs, with long black bristles between them ; 

 the abdomen shows tufts of black hairs on the sides and at ends. The 

 bristles of frous, face and genae are black, but on the occiput there are 

 some yellow bristles. Proboscis black, 6 mm. long. Bristles in front 

 of thorax numerous and strong, black, with a few yellow ones inwards. 

 Femora black ; tibiae yellow, with black spines. The wings are 

 blackened at the base and along the marginal cell, which shows at end 

 two broad hyaline spots, one after the other ; there are broad, rounded 

 fuscous spots at the end of the second basal cell, on the discal cross- 

 vein and at the base of the second submarginal cell ; other smaller 

 spots are seen at the base of the third posterior cell and at the end of 

 the discoidal and of the first posterior cell ; much smaller and less 

 distinct spots are on the ends of the veins along the hind border. 

 Discoidal cell very long and obtus ( e ; the discal cross-vein is situated 

 after its middle ; upper branch of the third vein very bent. 



BOMBYLIUS MEGASPILUS, Sp. 11OV., c , 9 . 



Closely allied to the preceding species, but smaller, and distinct 

 owing to the very broad black spots at hind border of the wings. 



Type male from Giftsberg, Van Rhynsdorp (Cape), September, 1911 ; 

 type female from Touw's River, Cape (W. F. Purcell). 



Length of body 9-10 mm. ; of proboscis 4-5 mm. Head black. 

 Frons of the female three times as broad as that of the male ; the 

 hairs are white, but the bristles are black and very long, chiefly in the 

 female ; hairs and bristles of the occipital border long, at least near 

 the vertex. Antennae black, the first joint with numerous and long 

 black hairs ; third joint very thin, entirely linear. Proboscis black ; 

 palpi black ; peristomial comb strong. Thorax and scutellum entirely 

 black ; the thorax Avith greyish hairs and three less distinct longitudinal 

 stripes of yellowish hairs ; pleurae with white and yellowish hairs, 

 bristles of the sides long and black, but those on the hind border of 

 the scutellum are dark yellowish. Squamae dark ; metapleural tuft 

 black and some white hairs below the squamae ; halteres blackish- 

 brown, with a whitish spot on the knob. Abdomen black, clothed 

 with long hairs, which are in part silky-white, but are mostly black ; 

 after the middle of the abdomen the hairs are directed behind, forming 



