204! [September, 



People who love to alter names have their chance here. The 

 f^enus Roeselia was founded by Kobineau Desvoidy (Myodaires, p. 

 145), the only generic character he gives being the nhsence of the 

 apical portion of the 4th vein. He ascribed four species to the genus, 

 all the names being quite new, in accordance with his usual custom ; 

 he afterwards (Ann. de la 8oc. Ent. de France, L>S4s, p. 447) con- 

 sidered his arvensis to represent antiqua, Meig., but probably all his 

 four species represent but one true species, being founded on trivial 

 individual differences. Under the circumstances no one could be 

 blamed for rejecting the name BcBsella, still it is probably more con- 

 venient to keep it. Moreover, the name pallipes, Fall., might be 

 rejected for my species, for Fallen sai/s that he is describing a. female, 

 and gives it a pale 2nd joint only to the antennae ; moreover, he says 

 the scutellum is testaceous. As I have already written the latter 

 character may prove inconstant, and as for the foruier one it is ex- 

 tremely likely that Fallen had a male before him, as the males in 

 this genus possess most of the characters usually confined to the 

 females in the Tachinidcs, and look very like females in every way, so 

 that he may be readily excused for making such a mistake ; anyway, 

 it is a nice point which is open to discussion ; in the meatinie, how- 

 ever, I prefer to retain the old names, the use of which can lead to no 

 confusion. 



Genus Erigine. Mr. E. E. Austen's article on this genus in the 

 Ent. Mo. Mag. for Mai-ch (pp. 57—60) is very interesting; pectinata, 

 Girschner, is a very distinct and fine addition to the British fauna ; 

 and being an insect which is very little known at present, it is to 

 be hoped that Col. Yerbury or Dr. Wood will succeed in obtaining 

 further specimens, including males, so that we may get to know it 

 better. Truncata, Ztt., is another well marked species which, how- 

 ever, is not strictly speaking new to us. It is true that Dr. Meade 

 says that his appendiculata had an entirely black scutellum, but apart 

 from the fact that Dr. Meade unfortunately made many mistakes, dark 

 specimens of all these species occur in which the red apex is so 

 reduced as not to be noticeable ; moreover, nothing else is known 

 which his species could have been, so that in the absence of further 

 evidence it seems most probable that he had a specimen of truncata, 

 Ztt., before him. Truncata is well known to me, and I have always 

 considered it identical with the appendiculata of Meade and of 

 Verrall's list, so that I have not regarded it as new to Britain. My 

 own specimens (four females) were taken in Sutton Park at hawthorn 

 blossom. Dr. Wood has taken it in Herefordshire, and Mr. E. C. 



