254 LEPTIDtE 



black on the lower part down to the antennae ; a slight (often indistinct) 

 stripe of grey dust runs across from just above each antenna to the eye ; face 

 bare and polished shining black and extending not narrowly down the 

 sides of the mouth, with a conspicuous brilliant glistening white spot of 

 tomentum on each side extending from under the base of each antenna to 

 the eye ; back of the head inflated on nearly the lower two-thirds to the 

 extent of about half the width of the eye as seen there in profile, and bearing 

 on that part rather long pale greyish pubescence, but on the upper part (well 

 away from the eyes) the pubescence is shorter and blacker and extends 

 inconsijicuously across the occiput just behind the vertex ; back of the head 

 gently arched from the eyes, and greyish black on the upper part. Palpi very 

 large and porrect ; end-joint deep dull black, long ovate, and almost bare ; 

 basal joint thin and only about a third the length of the second joint, 

 obscurely brownish orange, and bearing some rather long pale pubescence. 

 Antennae similar to those oi the male but possibly a little stouter. 



Thorax colored similarly to that of the male, but the middle pair of 

 blackish stripes are a little broader and the grey stripes outside of them are 

 about as wide as the middle black stripes but are rather vague and have on 

 their outer side some curious sloping blackish cross-lines. Pubescence almost 

 absent on all the thorax, but obvious though rather sparse on the scutellum 

 and metanotum. 



Abdomen shining black, but rather dull' about the base and with the 

 second and third segments conspicuously orange red as well as part of the 

 disc of the fourth segment though the hindmargins of the second and third 

 segments are narrowly blackish and sometimes the foremargins of these 

 segments are obscured ; the fourth segment has its margins and broad hind 

 corners black, or sometimes the fourth segment is as red as the third and then 

 the fifth segment may have a roundish red spot on the middle of the disc ; 

 pubescence short, black, rigid, and not dense. Belly rather rugose trans- 

 versely, with the third segment lurid orange-red except on the front and 

 hind margins, and with the second and fourth segments considerably lurid 

 orange-red. 



Legs rather darker reddish than in the male, and the hind tibiae with the 

 basal half (or thereabouts) almost blackish ; front coxae with shorter and less 

 whitish pubescence ; hind femora longer and slightly more clavate ; spu.rs 

 longer. 



Wings rather resembling those of X. ater, but less clouded and less 

 yellowish at the base and with the veins rather paler brown ; middle cloud 

 only occupying the extreme base of the submargmal cell, the extreme tip of 

 the first basal cell, and the basal third of the discal cell, and hardly extended 

 at all to the postical vein ; the veinlets ending the discal cell a little 

 cloixded, but there is no clouding about the wingmargin though the basal part 

 of the radial vein may be a little clouded ; discal cross-vein well developed ; 

 lower cross-vein sometimes Avell developed and then sometimes unusually 

 sloping ; stem of the cubital vein varying from a little longer to a little 

 shorter than the lower branch of its fork ; the two upper veinlets from 

 the discal cell well separated at their origin. Squamae with the long fringe 

 near the angle blackish. Halteres more yellowish. 



Length about 11 mm. (J, or 13 mm. ? . 



This species is usually rather larger than X. ater and is ob\iously 

 darker orange on the legs and about the base of the wings ; it may be 

 known in both sexes from any other European species by the much 

 shorter basal joint of the antennae and by the thorax being entirely dull 

 except at the humeri ; the deep black face with the brilliantly white spots 

 at the upper corners is very distinct from the greyish white face of X. ater, 

 and as far as my experience goes the extensively reddish abdomen of the 

 female will distinguish that sex from X. ater (though perhaps not from an 

 unrecorded European species), though Loew has stated (Stettin, ent. Zeit., 

 viii., 70) that this character does not always remain constant. An 



