2. TABANUS 377 



the bite of the female although not pamful is very severe and draws 

 blood more often than that of any other species. 



Synonymy. — It is with considerable misgiving that I propose a new name for 

 this common species, but after prolonged study I am unable to identify it with any 

 named species \ Pandelle found the same difficulty in reconciling his Pyrenean 

 specimens with Brauer's description, and therefore it is most probable that he had 

 T. di sting uend us before him. It is exceedingly close to the two species described as 

 T. solstiiialis and T. Muhlfehll by Brauer, but Brauer's T. sohtitialis has the eye- 

 facets of the male very much enlarged on all the front and upper part of the eyes 

 and strongly contrasted with the small facets on the lower jmrt, and this is 

 confirmed by three males in Kowarz's collection from Franzensbad in Bohemia. 

 A female of this species which was taken at Braemar on July 21, 1873, 

 was sent to Brauer before his monograpli was published, and was returned by him 

 as T. solstitial is ; it was a specimen which had the basal side-corners of the third 

 and fourth abdominal segments rather obviously blackened and black haired, but 

 the fourth segment otherwise very strongly red, and the pubescence on the middle 

 tibiae rather conspicuous. Another female sent to Brauer at the same time, taken 

 at Lyndhurst on June 30, 1874, was certainly one of the next species, so that it is 

 obvious that Brauer had not a very definite opinion about these closely allied 

 species. Some females in Kowarz's collection under the name of T. so/stitialis (one 

 from Mannhartsberg in Lower Austria, one from Herculesbad, and one from 

 Marienbad) are very close to 7\ distinguendus but are I consider not quite con- 

 specific ; they have the frontal stripe almost wholly black haired, the middle callus 

 rather broad and not always connected with the front callus ; frontal triangle more 

 yellowish ; upper part of the side-cheeks with more black hairs ; paljii less dilated 

 at then- thickest part and then abruptly bent downwards, long and blunt-tipped, 

 with black bristles predominating but with pale ones intermixed right up to the 

 tip ; basal joint of the antennie with fewer long hairs beneath, and the third joint 

 with its basal segment brighter red and not darkened dorsally ; thorax more clis- 

 tinctly striped and with more obvious brownish yellow pubescence intermixed with 

 the erect black hairs ; prsealar calli hardly ferruginous and mainly black haired ; 

 abdomen with the black dorsal stripe much broader at its narrowest part (almost 

 one-third the segment) and the orange part more reddish and not extending to the 

 fourth segment, though that segment may be reddish along the sides of the hind- 

 margin ; sidemarginal pubescence all pale even to the end of the sixth segment, and 

 the general pubescence all reddish orange without being soft and ubiquitous ; hind- 

 marginal hems narrowly whitish, especially against the dorsal triangles of the 

 second, third, and fourth segments. A male from Greece (Sir S. S. Saunders) is almost 

 identical with T. distingue ml us hut is smaller, and has a ciliation of short inconspicu- 

 ous postocular black bristles all the way up the back of the head (a not very trust- 

 worthy character), and also has the narrow part of the abdominal black dorsal stripe 

 interrupted at the hindmargins of the second and third segments. One or two details 

 in Schiner's description of 7\ solstitia/is woidd appear to indicate 7\ distinguendus, 

 for instance such as his emphasising the orange proealar calli and the large extent of 

 the orange abdominal coloring, but it cannot be doubted that Brauer fully under- 

 stood Schiner's very common species. Two males and several females in Bigot's 

 collection under the label of T. solstitial is belonged to T. distinguendus, and Walker's 

 T. tropicus must also refer to this species because he speaks of it as being 

 " generally distributed." In Meigen's collection at Paris there is a solitary female 

 representative of T. solstitial is, which clearly belongs to the next species. 



Since writing the above, Lundbeck has considered the males of this species as 

 conspecific with T. Muhlfeldi Brauer, but he has only doubtfully identified the 

 female ; he has had Brauer's original type of the male before him and may be 

 correct, but in view of the other closely allied species to which I have referred I 

 leave my description and name intact. 



6. T. solstitialis Meigen. Tibiae mainly tawny. Abdomen very 

 extensively bright orange, but with no orange markings in tlie female on 

 the fourth segment. Eyes of the male with the front facets very cou- 



