Platychiius. 



221 



dark æneous with somewhat short, pale hairs. Legs black, the knees 



yellowish, naiTOwly on the hind legs; front tibiæ and tarsi mainly 



pale, middle tibiæ pale at apex and the tarsi brownish. The troch- 



anters show no distinct bristles; front femora with a couple of long, 



black, bristly hairs behind, one of which is placed about the middle 



and one before the tip, and with some shorter hairs at the base and 



some below ; at the base they are a little curled and tangled ; front 



tibiæ evenly bat slightly dilated towards the end; they 



are brownish in the middle, the apical part is whitish 



and has below at the apex two small, black transverse 



lines ; they are short-haired, with only some longer hairs 



on the posterior margin ; front tarsi likewise slightly 



dilated and almost not decreasing in breadth towards 



the end, metatarsus as long as the three folio wing joints; 



the middle femora have short, black bristles in the apical 



half on the anterior side towards below, and a fringe of 



somewhat long, brownish hairs on the postero-ventral 



side; the middle tibiæ are simple and short-haired, with 



only a few a little longer hairs on the dorsal side; the 



hind femora have long but not dense, yellow hairs on 



the anterior side, and hind tibiæ a fringe of dark hairs 



on the antei'o-dorsal side, longest about the middle: hind 



metatarsi very slightly thickened. Wings brownish tinged. 



Squamulæ brownish with a yellow fringe. Halteres with 



a yellow peduncle and a blackish brown knob. 



Female. Vertex rather narrow, about one fifth of the 

 breadth of the head, somewhat rapidly increasing downwards ; vertex and 

 frons bluish black, punctate and dullish above ; frons with small, grey side 

 dust spots, and from them grey along the eye-margins down to epi- 

 stoma; the hairs black, a little yellowish across the middle. Epistoma 

 pale-haired. Thorax bluish, shining, with short, pale hairs. Abdominal 

 spots larger than in the male and bluish hoary; on fifth segment a 

 pair of indistinct spots. Anterior legs yellowish, the tibiæ with a broad 

 dark ring below the middle, on front tibiæ nearly to the apex; anterior 

 tarsi darkened, brownish, middle metatarsi yellow; hind legs blackish 

 brown, apex of femora and basal part of tibiæ yellow. Legs simple 

 and simply haired. Squamulæ whitish. Halteres yellow. 



Length 5,5 to about 6 mm. 



This species is easily recognised by its small size, and in the 

 male by the æneous abdominal spots, dark halteres and slightly dilated 

 front tibiæ and tarsi; the female shows rather great resemblance to 

 albimanus but besides by its smaller size it will be known by its 



Fig. 110. 

 P. sticticus (J, 

 right front leg- 

 from below. 

 X 20. 



