82 Syrphidae. 



more or less pale, especially on the anterior tarsi; hind femora and 

 metatarsi almost not thickened. Femora and tibiæ with chiefly blackish 

 hairs, long on the posterior side of the anterior femora and anteriorly 

 on the hind femora; tibiæ short-haired, only a somewhat conspicuous 

 fringe above the hind tibiæ; sometimes the hairs on the legs are 

 paler; tarsi with adpressed, yellowish or brownish pubescence. Wings 

 more or less yellowish or light brownish tinged, sometimes rather 

 brown. Stigma brownish. Squamulæ dirtily whitish. Balteres yellow. 



Female. Antennæ a little larger than in the male, third joint as 

 long as broad. Frons æneous black, densely punctate in the middle, 

 almost or quite without dust spots. Occiput shining above, with yel- 

 low hairs; vertex black-haired; frons yellow-haired but the hairs above 

 the antennæ black. Epistoma yellow-haired. Eyes shorter and paler 

 haired than in the male. Thorax æneous black, with short, greyish 

 yellow pubescence. Abdomen more ovate than in the male, coarsely 

 punctate, with short pubescence, which is pale, but black at the in- 

 cisures; the spots generally larger than in the male. Legs short-haired, 

 hind femora a little clavate, and hind metatarsi slightly thickened. 



Length. This species may vary somewhat in length, from 5 to 

 8 mm, the smallest specimens are, however, less common. 



This species is easily known by the short antennæ and the rather 

 short and ovate abdomen ; also the low^ epistoma causing the antennæ 

 to be placed below the middle of the head is very characteristic, as 

 is also the not straight but somewhat hoUowed epistoma; generally 

 the species is known at once by the four abdominal spots, but these 

 may sometimes be obscure and indistinct and the second pair may 

 disappear, or finally the spots may in single cases be quite wanting. 

 It is especially in the females that the spots show tendency to dis- 

 appear, and in my rather large material it is only in very few cases 

 that no trace of spots can be detected. 



P. quadrimaculata is by far the most common species of Pipiza 

 in Denmark; Ordrup Mose, Charlottenlund, Dyrehaven, Lyngby Mose, 

 Hareskov, Bagsvær, Fure Sø, Ørholm, Ruderhegn, Frerslev Hegn, Tyve- 

 krog, Nyrup Hegn, Roskilde, Nordskoven at Jægerspris, Tisvilde; on 

 Langeland at Lohals; on Lolland at Nysted and in Kældskov; on 

 Funen at Middelfart, and in Jutland at Horsens. My dates are 

 ^^Ib—Vli. It occurs among low piants in fields and meadows sitting 

 on various flowers, often on Ranunculus and Gomposites; the females 

 are most commonly met with and also present later in the season 

 than the males. 



Geographical distribution : — Europe down into the Italy, towards 

 the north to northern Sweden, and in Finland. 



