CHARLES P. ALEXANDER 233 



Teucholabis melanocephala Fabricius 



1794. Tipulartielanocephala'Fahricius, Ent. Syst., iv, 241. 



1828. Limn bin mclanicephala Wiedevaann, Aussereur. zweifl. Ins., i, 34. 



E'ght specimens, 4cf and 49, Bartica, December 5, 1912 (cf) 

 to April 14, 1913 (cf ), a few in the swamps, the others attracted to 

 light at night. Mallali, March 11, 1913, one large male. 



I identify this large showy species as being the Tijmla melano- 

 cephala of Fabricius described from Cayenne. My series do not 

 agree in all respects with the rather detailed description given by 

 Wiedemann but since the}' show considerable variation in color, I 

 believe my determination of the form to be correct. The insect 

 may be recharacterized as follows: 



Male. — Length, 6.9 to 9.8 mm. ; wing, 6.3 to 9.1 mm. 



Female. — Length, 9 to 10.3 mm. ; wing, 6.4 to 8 mm. 

 Male.- — Rostrum rather short, dark brownish black, the palpi black. 

 Antennae dark brown. Head reddish yellow, in some specimens with a 

 conspicuous dark brown blotch on the vertex. 



Pronotum reddish yellow, black anteriorly. Praescutum reddish with a 

 broad dark brown mark extending from the lateral margin inward toward 

 the median line ; other specimens show a median dorsal stripe that is divided 

 by a pale line; in some dark individuals the median line is dark brown and 

 at its caudal end becomes confluent with the cephalic ends of the lateral 

 stripes as described by V iedemann ; this leaves a large blotch of yellow on the 

 sides of the sclerite in front of the pseudosuture and the median portion of 

 the sclerite behind at the transverse suture. Lobes of the scutum largely 

 dark brown; scutellum and postnotum pale, in dark individuals the caudal 

 half of the latter very dark brownish black. Pleura largely blackish but 

 this color largely concealed by a dense silvery pubescence; sternites reddish 

 yellow. Halteres moderately long, the stem light brown, the knobs dark 

 brown except their Vjases which are black. Legs, coxae and trochanters dull 

 yellow, femora yellowish brown with a broad median and a subapical annulus 

 of dark brown. \^ ings subhyaline with three brownish clouds, not strongly 

 defined, the basal band irregular extending from the rounded blotch at the 

 origin of Rs to the end of 2nd Anal; the middle band begins at the darker 

 brown rounded stigma caudad across the wing, including the outer end of 

 cell 1st Mi) the third band embraces the wing-tip and is moderately broad. 

 The venation is shown in plate III, fig. 7. 



Abdomen with the first tergite black, the remaining tergites dull yellow; 

 sternites with the lateral margins of the segment brown; sternite seven 

 with a broad I'ounded dark brown median blotch at the caudal end; 

 sternite eight with a row of about seven strong curved hairs on either side 

 of the middle line, these hairs directed inwards. 



Female. — Similar to the male but the size averages smaller as is the rule 

 in this genus, but the very long, slender abdomen makes up the greater 

 part of this length; abdomen dark brown. 



TH.^NS. AM. EXT. SOC, XL. 



