108 STRATIOMYID^ 



and subcostal cell yellowish brown, and the stronger anterior veins more pro- 

 nouncedly yellowish brown than the weaker posterior veins, though these 

 latter are by no means faint ; all the veins enclosing the discal cell are almost 

 blackish brown, and cause some trace of a dark cloud about the middle of 

 the wing ; upper branch of the cubital fork ending about half way between 

 the ends of the radial vein and the lower branch of the cubital fork. Squamae 

 (alar) not large, Ijlackish with moderate pale grey fringes ; thoracal squaniEe 

 blacker still and forming a small lobe on which is dense long black 

 pubescence, 



9 . Frons orange, with the middle of the back of the vertex black and widening 



out and occupying all the space between the eyes until after the ocelli, and 



then the black colour slopes off outwardly from the eyes and is continued down 



the middle in a broad black stripe (more than a third the width of the frons) 



as far as the antennae, and this black stripe is also continued down the middle 



of the face (though rather more narrowly) ; the yellow sides of the face (which 



have a whitish eyemargin commencing from about a third of the way up the 



frons) are not connected with the yellow postocular band because the narrow 



stripe below the eyes is darkened ; yellow postocular band broad above but 



rather diminishing downwards until on about the lower half of the head it 



becomes rather silvery and the puffed-out black back of the head can be seen ; 



pubescence general and whitish, but very short and inconspicuous except on 



the lower part of the head. Eyes with very short though not scarce dark 



nibescence ; facets all equal in size ; in life there is a purple band across a 



ittle above the middle, and the eyes above and below that are dark green but 



lave the margins of the purple band lighter green. Antennae (fig. 107) dull 



)lack, but often dark reddish orange from the beginning of the second joint to 



the end of the third annulation of the third joint. 



Thorax rather similar to that of the male but the yellow markings are more 

 extended, so that on the postalar calli the yellow marking spreads more 

 upwards on to the disc, and there are two narrow Avidely se^jarated yellow 

 lines on the front part (though not quite to the front) which disappear at the 

 suture, or only extend a short distance further after an interruption at the 

 suture ; pubescence on the disc very much shorter than in the male and all 

 whitish, but on the pleurae it is still rather long and conspicuously whitish. _ 



Abdomen almost bare, with similar but brighter yellow markings, and in 

 addition the middle of the basal segment is yellow. Belly more yellow. 



Legs willi the base of the posterior femora orange and sometimes broadly 

 so ; pubescence on the femora short and inconspicuous. 



Wings more hyaline. Squamae (alar) with very short fringes unless near 

 the angle, but the thoracal squamae with long whitish grey fringes. 



Length about 7 mm. 



This species has no close ally in Britain, as its yellow tibite distinguish 

 it at once from 0. dives, and the reputedly British 0. Fallenii has three 

 [)airs of isolated abdominal spots. 



0. pulchella is not very rare in England as I have records from Devon 

 (Salcombe), Dorset (Glanville's Wootton), Kent (Belvedere), Surrey 

 (Denmark Hill in garden), Suffolk (Felixstowe), ISTorfolk (West Eunton), 

 Hereford (Tarrington and Woolhope), Monmouth (Abergavenny), and 

 Glamorgan (Porthcawl). I believe it more often occurs in odd specimens 

 than in local abundance, and I think it is less attached to marshy ground 

 than most of the other species. My dates only range from July 10 to 31. 

 Kertesz's Katalog records it from all Europe, but it is strange that 

 Lundbeck does not seem to have met with it in Denmark. 



Synonymy. — Walker revived Scopoli's name of vara for this species and possibly 

 correctly, but too much uncertainty is attached to Scopoli's name. Moses Harris's 

 name of JIusca tardigraclus undou.btedly refers to this species as his description is a 

 good one ; if however Meigen's name of pulchMa be supplanted Scopoli's name has 

 priority. 



