96 [April, 1912. 



The single example was swept from under a group of spruce firs 

 in Stoke Wood, on the 3rd of October, 1910. The chief points 

 differentiating it from femorata are the absence of the apical spine on 

 the middle tibife and also of a tiny apical one on the front tibiae, present 

 in femorata ; the dull abdomen (in femorata it is distinctly shining, 

 especially behind) ; the broader frons ; shorter 1st costal division and 

 the forking of the 2nd thick vein. This inner branch, however, is so 

 fine and threadlike that it may only be an individual variation, but 

 whether it be so or not, it is at any rate hard on the way to extinction, 

 and its presence in this emasculated condition need not, I think, pre- 

 clude our placing the insect in Hypocera rather than PJiora. Moreover, 

 not only does its general appearance remind one of femorata, biit what 

 is also of even greater importance, the type of hypopygium is the 

 same in both species. I have recently been looking more critically 

 into the external characters of the male genitalia in PJiora and Hypocera 

 and have found so much that is interesting, that I have added at the 

 end of these notes a few remarks on the subject, illustrated by some 

 excellent figures, for which I amjindebted to my good friend Mr. Collin, 

 who has done so mixch in many ways to help me. 



H. femorata. Among my five representatives of this species (all 

 males) is one specimen that differs from the others in being distinctly 

 larger, and in having a 2nd large preapical bristle on the hind tibise, 

 placed at the end of the seam, besides several smaller bristles, in 

 addition to the usual spurs, on the inner or posterior aspect of the 

 joint. Mr. Collin tells me that he took a female of this variety, if 

 variety it be, at Barton Mills (Suffolk), and that there are two males 

 of it in Kowarz's collection. 



GrRoup II OF Becker. 

 This is now known as AphiochMa, Brues. It still remains a huge 

 and unwieldy mass, which, after putting on one side Verrall's formi- 

 carum, does not seem to lend itself to any natural subdivision. The 

 four species, picta, meigeni, giraudi, and fasciata, with two rows of 

 bristles on the tibiae and other characters in common, such as the 

 narrow or very narrow frons, and the position of the bristles in the 

 lower frontal row, &c., might well be placed in a separate genus, but 

 this does little to relieve the situation. 



Section B (scutellum with four bristles). 

 By some oversight the general notes on the eight species from 

 rtifa to rata were never printed and the omission was not discovered at 

 the time. 



