2. TABANUS ' 355 



black legged European species at all likely to occur in Britain is T. 

 aterrimus Meig., which has the front tarsi of the male normal, and the 

 frontal triangle of the female all grey. 



T. micans is not common in Britain, as my records seem to be limited 

 to Hampshire (Fordingbridge and Lyndhurst), Cumberland (Saddleback), 

 Merioneth (Dolgelly and Barmouth), and Inverness (Nethy Bridge); B. 

 Cooke recorded T. austriacus from Warrington in Lancashire. My dates 

 extend only from June 11 to 23. It is recorded as uncommon from Sicily 

 to Central and Western Europe, but there is no record from Northern 

 Europe and Lundbeck does not include it in his Diptera Danica. 



Synom/niy. — Walker described this species as T. austriacus Fabr., which is a 

 probable synonym. 



2. T. tropicus Meigen. Tibiae mainly tawny, but nearly the apical half 

 of the front (and often of the hind) pair blackish; middle tibiae con- 

 spicuously pubescent. Abdomen not conspicuously orange-red. Vertex 

 with a tuft of black hairs. 



A (normally) rather large species which is without the con- 

 spicuous orange-red abdominal markings of T. solstitialis 

 and T. distinguendus. 



$. Head not large in comparison with the thorax. Face dark grey, bearing 

 on the side-cheeks moderately dense rather long black pubescence which 

 becomes rather more sparse below and liardly extends round to the lower 

 part of the back of the head, and with long greyish white pubescence on the 

 inner part of these side-cheeks (partly overhanging the depressed middle part 

 of the face), on the jowls, and all al)0ut the mouth, and with similar pubescence 

 extending all up the hollowed out back of the head ; eyemargins all down the 

 face and round to the back of the head narrowly and inconspicuously lighter 

 grey ; jowls very little prominent, and all the lower part of the back of the 

 head hardly at all inflated, leaving only a narrow rim which bears on its hind- 

 margin extremely short black ciliation until above the middle of the head, 

 after which the pubescence becomes slightly longer and is pale, while well before 

 the top it becomes distinctly longer (though still not conspicuously long) and 

 forms a pale fringe up to the vertex, and there is an obvious tuft of forwards - 

 curved black hairs just behind the ocelli ; vertical space very small, dark chest- 

 nut, slightly but distinctly elevated ; frons quite bare, conspicuously whitish 

 grey and almost glistening, though there is a slight darkening across from 

 the eyes to the antenna, and below this the sides of the face are grey but 

 darker than the frons. Palpi blackish grey, but with the tip brownish yellow 

 and the inner side yellowish orange • last joint forming a regular oval, 

 hardly twice so long as broad and with the tip hardly pointed, and clothed 

 above, outside, and beneath with rather abundant mainly black hairs, 

 intermixed with which are usually some pale hairs, but on the under side 

 (especially near the base) the hairs are greyish white, and the inner side is 

 almost bare ; basal joint with much longer more conspicuous abundant 

 greyish white hairs intermixed with which are usually only a very few black 

 hairs. Eyes touching for (piite twice the length of the frontal triangle, and 

 clothed with dense not long brownish pubescence which becomes rather paler 

 brownisli_ grey on the lower part ; facets on the prominent front part and 

 on the middle up to the part where the eyes touch rather larger than those 

 outside that space, but not at all conspicuously so and the change only very 

 gradual ; in life (according to Brauer) the eyes have three purple bands, and 

 the undermargin green without any band. Antennae greyish black at the 

 base, but the third joint extensively reddish for more than its basal half and 

 reddish brown on the rest ; basal joint thickened and bearing conspicuous 



