432 Tachinidae. 



very slightly. Abdomen is black-haired, with marginal bristles, 

 second segment without, third with a pair and fourth with a row. 

 Fifth sternite long, arched and semicylindrical; it is black and shining, 

 only slightly incised with short lamellæ ; these latter have an excision 

 at upper posterior angle, so that a little ciirved tooth is formed; they 

 are densely beset with short bristles, the tooth bare and »hining. 

 Hypopygium black; upper forceps a very small triangular piece, 

 hidden between the arms of lower forceps; these latter likewise rather 

 small, almost semicircular, inwards going out in a strong, curved 

 hook, the two hooks meeting in the middle; the outer part of the 

 arms densely haired with long, curved hairs. Legs black or blackish, 

 tibiæ often obscurely brownish, hind tibiæ more or less reddish; the 

 legs have strong bristleg. Wings a little brownish tinged; veins yellow 

 on basal part, brown outwards, medial cross-vein a little clouded; 

 posterior cross-vein sinuate. Squamulæ whitish. Halteres dark 

 yellowish to brown. 



Female. Quite similar; frons broader. Abdominal sternites 

 with strong bristles. 



Length 10 — 13 mm. 



P. nigricornis is common in Denmark; Tisvilde, Rørvig, Faxe 

 Ladeplads; on Falster at Gedser; on Langeland at Lindelse; on Funen 

 at Middelfart ; on Endelave ; in Jutland at Ry, Tvilum near Silkeborg, 

 Marselisborg, Hald, Ullitz, Frederikshavn, Hulsig and Lønstrup, and 

 on Bornholm at Hasle and Balka; the dates are from end of May to 

 ^"/g. It occurs especially in sandy locahties, on umbeUifers and com- 

 posites and also often on heather, and I have also taken it on Knautia. 

 It is known as parasitic on Papilio machaon and Agrotis segetum and 

 vestigialis; I have seen it from Agrotis cursoria, not earUer known as 

 host for it; the imago came on ^/g (Weis). 



Geographical distribution: — Europe and down into North 

 Africa; towards the north to middle Sweden. Also occurring in North 

 America. 



Remarks: Tachina tessellata Fabr, is in Kat. palåarkt. Dipt. 

 given with a query as synonym to Eudoromyia magnicornis Zett. I shall 

 remark, that in the collection of Tønder Lund and Sehested, which 

 is determined by Fabricius, there is a specimen, determined as tes- 

 sellata^ and it is the present species; the specimen is, however, 

 not the type, which certainly is in Fabricius's collection in 

 Kiel. 



