6. STRATIOMYS 159 



just below the middle with a greenish shimmering on each side of it, and at 

 such times the eyes appear to be dark blue with a greenish shimmer visible 

 from any point of view. Antennae dull black ; second joint slightly rufous 

 because of a little obscurely rufous pubescence ; basal joint about six times 

 as long as the second, but hardly more than half as long as the third. 



Thorax, pleurae, and scutellum with universal very dense moderately long 

 pubescence, which is usually foxy red, but varies to brownish or pale tawny 

 or brownish greyish yellow or even simply light grey, but when at all dark 

 colored there is a paler tuft behind the postalar calli which harmonises with 

 the thoracal squamae ; the pleurae also bear paler pubescence than the disc of 

 the thorax when that of the latter is foxy red ; rather conspicuous in this dense 

 pubescence are the practically bare spaces on the pleurae for the reception 

 of the front femora, and on the hollows near the base of the wings. Scutellum 

 black with t^yo orange to whitish yellow spines, and the under side of the 

 straight margin between the spines obscurely fulvous. 



Abdomen black with a brownish tinge caused by the apparently depressed 

 pubescence, rather more arched transversely than usual, and with the flattened 

 margins hardly so conspicuous as in the other species ; there is often no trace 

 of any pale spots, but usually close examination shows very small ones at the 

 extreme hindmarginal corners of the second, third, and fourth segments ; 

 abdomen rather shining because the punctuation though abundant is not 

 confluent. Pubescence abundant on the disc, usually tawny but ranging to 

 greyish, nearly erect when viewed sideways, not quite dense enough to obscure 

 the ground colour, and almost absent on the basal segment and about the 

 sides of the disc on the third segment, and rather scarce on about the same 

 part of the fourth segment; shorter, more sloping, and paler on the fifth 

 segment ; the discal pubescence when viewed from above appears much more 

 sloping ; on the whole of the sidemargins the pubescence is hardly longer, but 

 is more outstanding and is paler, while on the straight foremargin before the 

 shoulders it is longer and stands up tuft-like. Belly rather shining black 

 with three orange or bone-white arched bands on the hindmargins of the 

 second, third, and fourth segments ; the band on the second segment is very 

 broad, and usually even reaches the foremargin at the middle but slopes out- 

 wards until it dies out on the hindmargin rather before or at the sides ; the 

 band on the third segment is much less broad as it hardly reaches half-way 

 up the segment, while the band on the fourth segment forms only a shallow 

 arch extending about a quarter uj5 the segment, these two bands also die out 

 before or at the sidemargins; hindmargins of the fourth and subsequent 

 segments (when visible) brownish orange to bone-white ; pubescence rather 

 abundant and long, slightly sloping towards the anus, and slightly interrupted 

 at the hindmargins of the three basal segments. 



Legs shining black on the femora except at the exact orange tip ; basal 

 fifth or less of the anterior tibiae sharply yellow, but the rest of them shining 

 black ; hind tibi« yellow with obscure dark markings especially beneath just 

 before the middle and all about the apical sixth, but' sometimes these obscure 

 markings become black bands ; tarsi varying from being dorsally blackish with 

 the basal joint of the posterior tarsi yellow, and the second and third joints 

 on the hind tarsi obscured, to being darkened above all the front tarsi until 

 the last two or three joints are almost blackish, and darkened at the tips of 

 the joints of the middle tarsi with the last two joints almost blackened, and 

 the hind tarsi not much darkened until the blackish last joint, and on to the 

 tarsi being orange, with the basal joint of the posterior tarsi yellow, and the last 

 joint of the anterior tarsi obscured; claws black at the tip. Pubescence 

 orange, long and dense behind the anterior femora, and long but less dense 

 beneath on their basal half; on the hind femora less abundant but quite 

 as long on the front part and beneath; on the tibite the pubescence is 

 yellow and is unusually long, especially on the anterior pairs, and is but little 

 depressed. 



Wings with a strong brownish tinge which is very noticeable all about the 

 middle part, and which in fact leaves only the tip and the hind angle region 

 hyaline; costal vein at the base and the subcostal up to the origin of the 

 radial vein, blackish and after these the usual strong veins are dull orange or 

 dull reddish orange; discal vein thin and brown but becoming blackish a 



