Phorocera. 351 



Thorax densely fine-haired; no præsutural intraalar bristle. Apical 

 scutellar bristles small or very small, somewhat erect and crossing, 

 also the lateral bristle small. Abdomen rather elongated cylindrical, 

 but somewhat tapering behind, second segment with the excavation 

 reaching hind margin; abdomen is blackish or brownish black, very 

 obscurely reddish at the sides near base, greyish pruinose, shifting 

 according to view with irregular dark tessellations. Abdomen black- 

 haired, second segment with a pair of marginal bristles, third with 

 a pair of discai and marginal and fourth with a pair of discai and a 

 row of marginal bristles. Fourth sternite drawn out triangularly in the 

 middle of hind margin; fifth cleft to the base with the hind margin 

 obliquely cut. Genitalia ratlier large; hypopygium somewhat elong- 

 ated; upper forceps forming a large, rectangular, somewhat arched 

 plate, somewhat narrowed towards base, and with a short ventrally 

 curved, claw-like rostrum at the end; it is densely haired with longish 

 hairs, except on apical part; the arms of lower forceps forming scale- 

 like pieces at each side below the end of hypopygium, each with the 

 anterior corner drawn out into a long, palpe-like style, only seen 

 after preparation. Legs black, hind tarsi with dense yellow hairs 

 on posterior side of the three first joints. Wings somewhat brownish 

 tinged; veins dark brown; first posterior cell open; discai angle a 

 little obtuse; no costal spine. Squamulæ white. Halteres brownish. 



Female. Similar; frons a little broader; claws and pulvilly 

 relatively large. 



Length 10—12 mm. 



Ph. assimilis is not common in Denmark, and has only been 

 taken at Valby, Tisvilde and in Nordskoven at Jægerspris; the dates 

 are ^^/j — ^e? so that it seems here to be a spring species; one of our 

 specimens is bred from Agrotis c-nigrum^ not hitherto known as host 

 for it. It is otherwise known from Aporia crataegi, Araschnia levana 

 and prorsa., Dasychira pudibunda, Saturnia pavonia, Cossus cossus, 

 Cucullia verbasci and Mamestra hrassicae, and from the non Danish 

 Thaumatopoea processionea, Malacosonia franconica and Arctia hebe; 

 it has also been recorded from Lophyrus and Ortalis stabilis? 



Geographical distribution: — Europe; towards the north to 

 middle Scandinavia and Finland. 



2. Ph. caesifrons Macq. 



1850. Macq. Ann. Soc. Ent. de Fr. 2, VIII, 424. 6, Tab. XII, fig. 7. — 1862. 

 Schin. F. A. I, 490. — 1891 . B. B. Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. Wien, LVIII, 339 



