156 STRATIOMYID^. 



margins of the next segment ; the middle line on the fifth segment does not 

 extend upwards to the true foremargin, though it does extend to an impressed 

 line across the segment which appears like a margin ; there is a small sixth 

 segment usually visible which has a narrow orange hindmargin and middle 

 line. Pubescence on all the second, third, and fourth segments (except on the 

 flattened margin) when viewed from behind abundant, erect, long greyish 

 brown but not very conspicuous, on the fifth segment more depressed and 

 more yellowish ; on the flattened sidemargins it is much scarcer than on the 

 disc and rather more yellowish, but everywhere on the whole upper surface 

 there is very inconspicuous but dense short black coarse pubescence beneath 

 all the longer greyish hairs, Belly_ black, more shining ; hindmargins of the 

 second to fifth segments bone white, and there is a trace of a band at the 

 middle of the base of the second segment ; these bands sometimes become 

 pointed towards their ends and do not reach the sidemargins except on the 

 fifth segment ; but more usually the band on the second segment is hardly 

 pointed at its ends and does not nearly reach the sidemargins, while the bands 

 on the third and fourth segments have long points which do reach the side- 

 margins ; pubescence fairly abundant, long, erect, brownish yellow on all the 

 segments except the fifth but more blackish on that. Genitalia with five 

 short brown lamellae just projecting from the fifth abdominal segment, the 

 middle one and the two outer ones rather narrow, the three middle ones with 

 some moderate pale hairs. 



Legs shining black and orange, the black parts sometimes with a brownish 

 tinge ; coxae and trochanters black, but a little brownish at their bases ; 

 femora black and roughened, with just the tip orange, as well as the basal 

 third of the tibije (or rather more on the hind pair) and the three or four basal 

 joints of the tarsi, though the fifth joint, and usually the fourth, are obscurely 

 blackish- all the tibiae a little flattened just below the middle; pulvilli and 

 base of the claws orange. Pubescence forming a moderate pale yellow fringe 

 behind the front femora, though quite beneath these there are some sparse 

 black hairs ; behind and beneath the middle femora it is more abundant and 

 conspicuous and is all pale yellow, while beneath the hind femora and more 

 sparsely on their front it is pale and fairly conspicuous ; the minute 

 pubescence of the tibiae is longer and more conspicuous than usual, and is all 

 pale yellow, as it is also on the tarsi. 



Wings with a strong brownish tinge, which becomes diluted towards the 

 tip and hindmargin ; costal, subcostal, radial, and cubital veins coarse and 

 rufous orange, stem of the postical vein coarse and orange, upper branch of 

 the postical up to the discal cell and the veins enclosing the outer end of the 

 discal cell strong and brownish orange • discal vein not thin but pale until 

 near the discal cell when it becomes i-ather blackish, and this colour extends 

 to its two forks which enclose the basal end of the discal cell, and to the 

 discal cross-vein ; anal vein at just its base strong for a short distance, and 

 even the extreme basal portion of the axillary vein strong and orange ; lower 

 branch of the postical vein moderately strong but pale, and all the other 

 outward veins thin and faint. Squamje brownish black ; alar pair with thick 

 margins, but with only very short brownish fringes ; thoracal pair with long 

 dense shaggy yellowish brown or pale grey pubescence all ovei", but especially 

 about the margin. Halteres yellow, but the base of the stem brownish. 



$ . Larger than the male. Head (fig. 132) flattened down so that it appears broad ; 

 face and frons so broad as to occupy nearly half the width of the head, almost 

 parallel-sided, shining black except for the orange spots ; frons when viewed 

 fi'om in front appearing to have but little pubescence, because its pubescence 

 is darker grey and pointing rather upwards though it is rather long and rathei- 

 abundant, but the face has conspicuous almost dense rather drooping long 

 pale grey or almost white pubescence all over, beginning above with rather 

 consjiicuous large whitish tufts near the eyes and almost parallel with the 

 antennae ; frons with numerous convolutions and ridges, and with a small 

 middle channel between two raised edges extending from the front ocellus to 

 the orange spots, and with coarse but not dense punctuation ; just before the 

 antennal prominence there is a pair of transverse orange spots placed close 

 together at the middle but reaching more or less than half-way towards the eyes, 



