238 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XVI. 



a grey sheen at the sides. Clypeus black ; proboscis metallic violet. 

 Palpi long, thin, metallic violet, acuminate ; composed of four segments, 

 the acuminate apical one slightly longer than the penultimate segment, 

 the penultimate and the preceding one nearly equal (fig* 1 b) ; on the 

 penultimate segment are a few short black spines* 



Thorax shiny black clothed with metallic brassy flat scales of two sizes, 

 mostly spindle-shaped, with a patch of pale blue ones at the base of the 

 wings and a few rather short black spines ; just behind the root of the 

 wings are some large flat apple-green scales. Prothoracic lobes clothed 

 with flat mauve and pale blue scales ; scutellum black with small flat 

 brassy, green and coppery scales on the large mid lobe, dusky over on 

 the lateral lobes ; border-bristles brown ; metanotum dark-brown ; 

 pleura? yellowish-brown with dense flat snowy white scales. Abdomen 

 expanding apically, metallic deep blue and violet basally and extending 

 to the last few apical segments which are more brilliant, their bases 

 with green and blue scales, their apical portions with violet and coppery 

 red, the apical segment and to some extent the basal lobes of the 

 genitalia with fiery red and coppery scales ; no caudal tuft (fig. 1 c), but 

 the two last segments have short, dense, black lateral bristles ; on the 

 first segment is a large creamy lateral patch, there are also more or 

 less prominent basal creamy lateral patches to the other segments ; 

 venter creamy yellow, except for the black apex. 



Legs uniformly black with metallic violet scales ; fore ungues un- 

 equal, the larger uniserrated, of the hind legs also unequal, and apparent- 

 ly simple, three of the hind small, much curved, equal and simple. 



Wings (fig. la) small, scales brown, those at the base showing violet 

 reflections; the first sub-marginal cell so minute that it is scarcely 

 perceptible to the naked eye ; second posterior cell fairly large and broad 

 about half the length of its stem ; the third long vein carried well past 

 the cross-veins as a scaled vein ; supernumerary cross- vein about three 

 times its own length nearer the apex of the wing than the mid, mid 

 cross-vein small, joining the posterior cross-vein which is about five 

 times the length of the mid. Halteres dull ochreous. 



Length of body 6 mm ; of palpi 4 mm. 



Habitat : Yatiyantota, Ceylon. 



Time of capture : March, (1902). 



