112 STRATIOMYID.E 



sharply contrasted lower part small and blackisli purple. Antennae all reddisli 

 orange, ratlier short, being less than half as long as the length of the eye ; 

 arista longer than the annulated joint. 



Thorax black with green (or yellow) stripes and markings, or practically 

 green \^dth three broad black stripes clown the disc which become united 

 on the hindmargin ; middle black stripe considerably widened on its front 

 half and extended right over the front, while the two side stripes are a little 

 abbreviated forwards because the gTeen lines connect in front ; pubescence 

 most evident on the front part of the middle black stripe, but existing every- 

 where, sloping inwards, and yellow. Pleurse black, but green (or yellow) on 

 the upper half of the mesopleurge, the whole pteropleurse, and on the adjoin- 

 ing part of the sternopleurae ; pubescence fairly long and conspicuous on the 

 front and back parts of the pleurae, Ijut leaving the ujipcr and middle parts of 

 the mesopleurse bare for the reception of the front femora. Scutellum and 

 its spines pale green (or yellow), but the extreme tip of the spines black ; 

 pubescence practically none ; metanotum black, with pale pubescence, but 

 the sides between the metanotum and the metapleurse are more or less green 

 or yellow. 



Abdomen mainly green (or yellow) ; but if black be taken as the ground 

 colour the green (or yellow) markings occupy all the liase of the basal 

 segment and extend considerably on to the middle of its disc, all the sides of 

 the second segment broadly and- also an arc or shallow triangle on the middle 

 of its foremargin, similar markings on the third segment only the side spots 

 are lai'ger, all the fourth segment except long narrow black spots on the fore 

 and hind margins, and practically all the fifth segment ; pubescence very 

 slight and inconspicuous, though there are some dullish white hairs about the 

 basal corners and on the disc of the fourth and fifth segments. Belly all 

 greenish yellow (or yellow) with obscure darkenings on the third and 

 extensively on the fourth segment. Genitalia orange at the tip. 



Legs all dull orange, even to the coxae and to the extreme tip of the tarsi, 

 though the hind coxae may be blackish about the base anteriorly. Pubescence 

 limited to some slight and pale hairs behind the anterior femora and beneath 

 the base of the hind femora. 



Wings very hyaline, but the anterior veins (excluding the discal) dis- 

 tinct and yellowish ; cubital vein forked, and the oj^en part of the second 

 submarginal cell a little shorter than the first ; discal vein so faint about its 

 base as to be sometimes almost imperceptible. Squamae (alar) yellow and 

 fairly large, but with no fringe until the lower corner ; thoracal pair nearly 

 semicircular and with long pale yellow fringes. Halteres with light green or 

 clear yellow knobs, but with the base of the stem more or less l:)rownish. 



? . Head greenish yellow (or yellow) with a narrow middle black line down the 

 frons, which line is slightly widened on its upper part, and with the eyemargins 

 on the upper three-fourths of the frons narrowly but inconspicuously black, 

 and these three black lines are connected at the top l)y a conspicuous black 

 line which extends from the upper corners of the eyes across the ocelli ; frons 

 barely one-third the width of the head ; back of the head very considerably 

 puffed out and continuously shining yellow and bare on the upper part, but 

 whitish near the eyes, and with whitish pubescence on the lower i)art. 



Thorax usually almost as in the male, but the greater part of the meta- 

 pleurae and hypopleurae greenish (or yellowish), and sometimes there is a 

 narrow elongate black spot just above the base of each wing (of Avhicli I ha,ve 

 seldom seen a trace in the male). 



Abdomen usually as in the male, but sometimes (and strangely in those 

 females only which have the narrow sharply marked black spot above the 

 wing-base) with the green side spots on the second and third segments 

 connected on the foreniargins with the middle green arc, and sometimes the 

 entire hindmargins of the second, third, and fourth segments narrowly black. 



Legs, wings, etc., almost as in the male. 



Length about 5 mm. 



This species varies exceedingly in the colour of the pale markings from 

 clear green to clear yellow (though I think they are always green in the 



