228 [October, 



Dartmoor, by Lieut.-Col. Ycrbury, July Gtli, 1S9G ; there are females 

 in the collection from the New Forest (Col. Terbury, July — August), 

 and Guestling, Hastings (Eev. E. N. Bloomfield). It is stated by 

 Schiner (loc. cif., p. 41) that the wing of the male Chr. quadratus is 

 " entirely brownish, the usual hyaline places being in this case only 

 paler." Such is not the case in the male from Holne, but the males 

 of Chr. relictus, of which the Museum possesses a series, have the apex 

 of the wing largely infuscated, the apical blotch being continued down 

 the posterior margin until it joins the transverse band, leaving merely 

 a somewhat ill-defined lunate fenestra between itself and the median 

 portion of the band. The median basal spot on the second abdominal 

 segment of the female Chr. quadratus is sometimes deeply emarginate 

 posteriorly, when it is evident that it is nothing but the base of 

 the black furcate mark seen on the same segment in the female Chr. 

 ecBCutiens. 



Similarly the double blotch on the second abdominal segment in 

 both sexes of Chr. rehcfus is due to the thickening of the rami of the 

 fork. Occasionally, in somewhat discoloured specimens, the bifid 

 character of the blotch on the second abdominal segment of the male 

 Chr. relictus cannot be made out with clearness, and the specimen 

 might then perhaps be confused with Chr. quadratus ; in such a case 

 the consideration of the other characters, such as the coloration of 

 the wing-tips and the amount of orange-yellow on the third abdominal 

 segment, will probably lead to the correct solution of the difficulty. 

 Of Chr. relictus the Museum possesses a satisfactory series of speci- 

 mens, including males and females from Torcross, S. Devon, May 24!th 

 to 26th, 1S93 (Lieut.-Col. Terbury) ; a male from Lyndhurst, New 

 Forest, July 4th, 1894 (Lieut.-Col. Yerbury) ; two females from 

 Leenane, Co. Galway, July 14th, 1892 (E. E. Austen) ; and a female 

 from Brockenhurst, New Forest, August 17th, 1893 (W. -R. Ogilvie 

 Grant). 



The little band of students of British Bipiera is slowly increasing 

 in numbers, and doubtless the I'ecruits are anxious for a chance of 

 distinguishing themselves. Additions to the British List may be found 

 elsewhere than among the Syrphidce or Tachinince, and the present 

 paper has been written in the hope of attracting some measure of 

 attention to one of the less popular groups. 



British Museum (Natural History), 



Cromwell Road, London, S.W. : 

 August 2lst, 1897. 



