Marshall. — On Neio Zealand Diptera. 281 



the summer at Lincoln, but I have not taken them else- 

 where. 



Platyura flava, sp. nov. 



Length of antennae. 0038; size of body, 0-137 x 0-016; 

 expanse of wing, 0-115 x 0-042. 



Antennas 2 + 11: jointed ; joints of scapus yellowish-grey, 

 first joint rather broader than long, second about as long 

 as broad, both covered with a silvery pubescence ; joints of 

 flagellum black, with a pubescence giving silvery reflections. 

 Head black, with a very short, rather inconspicuous, silvery 

 pubescence. Thorax light-yellow anteriorly, darkening to 

 dark-yellow posteriorly, shaded with black, but without any 

 distinct or definite markings ; whole surface covered with 

 moderately stiff black hairs. Scutellum dark-brown, fringed 

 with black hairs. Metathorax and pleurae dark - tawny. 

 Halteres with a stout pedicel bearing a club, yellow at base 

 but almost white at the top. Abdomen dark- tawny on the 

 back but ligliter on the sides, and the posterior margin of 

 each segment almost black ; thinly covered with black hairs. 

 Coxae bright-yellow, with a few black hairs on the outer side 

 near the tip ; femora darker, covered with short black hairs ; 

 tibiae and tarsi with light ground-colour, but rather thickly 

 clad with black hairs, the former with a few scattered spines 

 in addition : spurs black. Wings almost hyaline. Auxiliary 

 vein rather faint ; first longitudinal joining costa about two- 

 thirds of its length ; anterior branch of second longitudinal 

 about as long as part of costa between its apex and that of first 

 longitudinal ; costal vein extending some distance beyond the 

 apex of second longitudinal, but not reaching apex of the 

 wing ; all the veins dark-brown or black. 



I have only one rather imperfect specimen of this insect, 

 taken at Lincoln in August. x\ specimen taken at Wanganui 

 differs but slightly from this insect, and is perhaps a repre- 

 sentative variety of the North Island. 



Genus Sciophila, Meig. 



Head small, flattened on the fore part, sitting deep in the 

 thorax, of rounded oval shape owing to its high vertex. Eyes 

 remote in both sexes, oval, a little emarginate on the upper side 

 above. Ocelli three, arranged near one another in a triangle 

 on the broad front, the anterior one very small. Proboscis 

 very short, not prominent. Hypostoma more or less broad. 

 Palpi prominent, incurved, four-jointed, the first joint very 

 small, the second shorter than the third, the fourth as long as 

 or longer than all three together, seldom shorter than them. 

 Antennae projecting forward, arcuated, those of the male 

 always longer than those of the female, in the latter often 



