2. LEPTIS 271 



the face at its lower part is more tlian one-tliird the width of the head ; frons 

 practically bare though a few minute black bristles occur, but the ocellar 

 space between and behind the two upper ocelli darker (but by no means 

 black) and bearing rather numerous very short black bristles ; face (including 

 the broad eyemargins) pale greyish yellow, and the eyemargins bearing rather 

 long pale pubescence on the inner part of their lower half, and this pubescence 

 merging into the longer pubescence on the jowls and lower part of the back 

 of the head ; back of the head greyish yellow, but darker near the upper eye- 

 angles, and apparently more puffed out because the eyes are smaller ; the 

 postocular short black bristles on the upper part of the back of the head 

 become numerous and in fact dense. Palpi with some black bristly hairs 

 included in the pubescence on the upper side. 



Thorax dull yellowish grey, with a divided broad middle stripe and two 

 broad side-stripes indistinctly brownish ; the double middle stripe does not 

 extend back much beyond the suture, and the side stripes are abbreviated in 

 front but extend back and end in points not far from the hindmargin ■ humeri, 

 a spot at the front end of the side stripes connected with the narrow yellowish 

 thoracic stripes, and all the sides of the dorsum of the thorax (including the 

 hindmargin) rather broadly though rather indefinitely orange, the orange colour 

 being most conspicuous on the humeri and on the postalar calli (including 

 the ridge towards the scutellum). Pleurse practically all testaceous, but 

 sometimes with the disc of the meso-, sterno-, and hypopleuraj obscurely greyish 

 black. Pubescence on the dorsum of the thorax very short and depressed and 

 inconspicuous except on the margins, all black and not at all abundant ; on the 

 prothorax it is yellow and rather abundant but occasionally with a few black 

 hairs on the top or hind part, while on the metapleurae the pubescence is 

 rather longer but more scarce and sometimes several of the hairs on the upper 

 part are black. Scutellum clear testaceous, rather shining, with short black 

 pubescence which is however longer than that on the thorax but is very 

 sparse on the disc. 



Abdomen moderately shining, sharply diminishing in Avidth from the 

 second segment to the tip; three basal segments usually each with a 

 conspicuous isolated black dorsal spot, the spot on the basal segment being 

 the smallest or least defined, and the spot on the fourth segment (and some- 

 times the third) touching the foremargin and extending triangularly down 

 about half or two-thirds of the segment; fifth segment small, compressed, 

 dull orange with the base blackish ; sixth and seventh segments tubular, 

 blackish grey or light grey, with expanded telescopic orange hindmargins ; 

 eighth segment forming part of the elongate ovipositor ; sidemargins blackish 

 on the second segment, beginning fairly wide at the base but narrowing to a 

 very thin marginal line at the end of the segment, and on the third and 

 fourth segments the black margin is absent or is narrow, but in dark 

 specimens mentioned later on the sidemargins are widely black ; pubescence 

 black, very short and inconspicuous except on the sides near the base. 

 Belly normally dull orange on the three basal segmeaits though the third 

 segment has "blackish reflections on its base and sidemargins, and the 

 other segments blackish grey with narrow determinate orange hindmargins ; 

 pubescence very slight ancl nearly all black, sipping on the four basal 

 segments but erect and very short on the remaining segments; far more 

 extreme forms of coloration on the belly are given later on. Ovipositor 

 elongate, blackish grey or light grey, ending in a pair of divergent ovate 

 upper lamellae which are blackish grey to orange, and in short ovate lower 

 lamellce which are obscurely blackish with obscurely orange bases. 



Legs rather paler than in the male ; front coxai normally all orange, and 

 the middle coxije with a slight dull greyish tinge, or all the coxae and 

 trochanters may be entirely orange, or clarker forms may _ occur as 

 are mentioned later on- posterior coxae with some black bristly hairs 

 about the tip in front ; hind femora and tibias normally without darkened 

 tips. 



Wings as in the male, or sometimes with a more or less pronounced 

 yellowish tinge. Alar squamae with a smaller blackish marking on the upper 

 part. 



Length about 10 mm., but varying from 8 mm. to 12 mm. 



