Sphaerophoria. 345 



sides. Legs always quite yellow with only the tarsi more or less 

 darkened; the hairs below the hind femora are not crowded, nor 

 bristly or stubby, but there is as in the male a bare postero-ventral 

 space at the base. 



The female varies, as seen, somewhat with regard to the abdominal 

 markings, but varieties as in the male cannot be distinguished, only 

 a rare variety with dark abdomen with all bands narrow and inter- 

 rupted has been interpreted as var. strigata. 



Length about 8 to fully 11 mm, the female the smaller. 



The above mentioned varieties may be distinguished in the fol- 

 lowing way (but it must be remembered that all intermediates occur) : 



1 . Legs all yellow, also coxæ and trochanters scripta. 



— Legs with coxæ and trochanters more or less black 2. 



2. Anterior coxæ blackish, hind coxæ partly so dispar. 



— All coxæ and trochanters blackish 3. 



3. Abdominal bands sloping, but reaching the yellow side margin nigricoxa. 



— Abdominal spots not reaching the side margin strigata. 



The larva quite resembles that of menthastri and is green (Rosel 

 deseribes it as yellowish with grey longitudinal stripes) ; the puparium 

 is whitish. 



S. scripta is common in Denmark and has been taken all over 

 the country, though it seems to be more common in some years than 

 in others. My dates are ^*/r. — ^^/o, but it is most common in the later 

 part of the summer. It occurs on many various localities, often in 

 great number. I took the larva at Valby on a leaf with Aphides on 

 '■/t, it pupated on ^/t and developed on ^"^/t; the pupa was taken at 

 Holte on ^^'8, sitting on grass, it developed on ^^/s (Kryger). Of the 

 varieties scripta is by far the most common in Denmark. — In Kat. 

 palåarkt. Dipt. Musca fasciata O. F. Miill. (Fn. Fridrichsd. 757) is given 

 as synonym with the present species; it is no doubt the female of 

 this or the following species, but of which it is impossible to say. 



Geographical distribution: — All Europe, towards the north to 

 northern Sweden, in Finland and in Iceland ; further in Egypt, on the 

 Ganaries and Madeira ; it occurs also in North America and in Green- 

 land (from which Stæger described strigata). 



2. S. menthastri L. 



1758. Linn. Sysl. Nat. X, 594 et 1761. Fn. Suec. 1819 et 1767. Syst. 

 Nat. XII, 2, 987, 53 {Musca). — 1764, O. F. Mull. Fn. Fridrichsd. 722 

 {Musca). — 1775. Fabr. Syst. Entom. 771, 43 {Syrphus) et 1805. Syst. 

 Antl. 251,13 {Scaeva). — 1822. Meig. Syst. Beschr. 'lIl, 325,77 {Syrphus). 



— 1843. Zett. Dipt. Scand. II. 769, 4 et 1849. VIII, 3160. 4. — 1862. Schin. 



