202 [September, 



Erecta. — A single male taken in Stoke Wood 12/5/06. I have 

 ventured to distinguish this little species ; firstly because of the 

 unusual clubbed shape of the hind tibiae with the curious little erect 

 hairs on the inner and under- side, and secondly because of the form 

 of the hypopygium and its papilla-like anal organ, which are quite 

 unlike those of its neighbours and follow the type presented by discreta 

 and 7indiventris in Section C. 



Halterata. — A common and widely distributed species. The black 

 form with dusky halteres is the larger insect, and is foimd almost 

 exclusively in the woods, whilst the paler and smaller one with yellow 

 halteres frequents as exclusively the house or garden. That the two 

 are, however, one and the same species, I think there can be little 

 doubt. At one time I was inclined to refer it to the jmmila of Meigen, 

 and have, I am afraid, so returned it to some of my correspondents. 

 Pumila according to Becker should have only ten short bristles on the 

 hind tibise, whereas in our insect the cilia — they are not worthy the 

 name of bristles — are very numerous and very delicate, which makes 

 it quite impossible for it to be that species. In roughly recognising 

 Jialterata I look for three chief points — the pair of strong and closely 

 approximated bristles (should it be a male) luider the hypopygimn, 

 the reciu'ved first thin vein, and the massing of the thick veins at the 

 end of the costa with the 2nd vein thick and strong and its outer 

 branch turned up abruptly to the costa. 



Minutissima. — Quite a mite of a species. As long ago as Septem- 

 ber 2nd, 1902, I found a small family of it rimning up and dovni the 

 window of a hoiise at Ledbury. A few were secured, including two 

 pairs in cop., and of these I still possess in good condition one of the 

 pairs and two odd females. I have been on the look out for it since, 

 but the opportunity of taking it has never again presented itself. 

 A suggestion once made to me that it might be a diminutive and 

 unusually yellow form of halterata is negatived by the important 

 differences in the costa and its supporting thick veins, by the straight- 

 ness of the 1st thin vein as well as by the other and smaller dis- 

 tinctions. 



Exigua. — This is another of the species fond of disporting itself 

 on our windows. It is abundant in the autunm. and probably of wide 

 distribution. Its likeness to simplex is veiy close, but the bare 

 mesopleurse should always distinguish it. 



(To be continued). 



