1873.1 283 



Bpecies of the genus in its hairy eyes and brown Bcutellum (approach- 

 ing Sjjrplius in both these respects), but falls without hesitation into 

 the genus from the peculiarity of the immaculate female. 



12. Plattchieus latimaiojs, Whlbg. — In my remarks on the British 

 species of Platychirus in this Magazine (November, 1870), I said 

 that any further addition to our indigenous species was hardly to 

 be expected. I have, however, another to add, which I suppose 

 must be Wahlberg's PI. latimanus, of which I have seen a series 

 captured by Dr. Buchanan "White at Dunkeld, a male from Scot- 

 land, in my own collection, and a male bred by Mr. T. N. Hoey 

 (who has kindly given me the specimen) from a pupa swept up 

 from heather in Tilgate Forest. The species superficially resembles 

 P, alhimanus, but is smaller and broader in front, in shape being 

 similar to Melanostoma amhiguum, ^ , but the peculiar front tarsi 

 of the male at once distinguish it. In the specimens I have seen, 

 the male has the frons broad and inflated, bearing a conspicuous 

 depressed lunule above the antennae, the inflation extends from 

 the frons to more than half way down the sides of the epistoma, 

 and the frons and all the inflated part are clothed with moderately 

 long, rather abundant black hairs ; the back of the head is rather 

 inflated ; the antennae are rather short, blackish-brown. The 

 thorax is shining seneous-black, faintly punctate ; the abdomen 

 dull black, with three pairs of hoary or whitish spots ; the basal 

 pair near the middle of the second segment, has the inner side 

 of each spot rounded, and the outer side touching the edge of 

 abdomen ; the second pair of spots are nearly similar, but rather 

 narrower, and are quite clear of the fore margin, but reach the 

 edge ; the pair on the fourth segment are rather nearer the fore- 

 margin, and about the basal corners of the fifth segment are 

 traces of another pair of spots. The legs are blackish, the front 

 pair with the knees brown, the femora with a tolerably abundant, 

 slightly waved, black pubescence behind, long near the base ; the 

 tibiae slightly curved, slightly larger towards the tip than at the 

 base, but not dilated, bearing outside a rather long and wavy 

 but not conspicuous fringe of black hairs, and inside being 

 obscurely yellowish on the apical third ; the tarsi with the two 

 basal joints pale yellow, very considerably dilated, forming an 

 oval disc. The first joint at its base is not at all broader than the 

 tip of the tibia, but rapidly dilates, being at its broadest part 

 (just before its end) more than three times as broad ; it is about 



