1. PHILONICUS 639 



drooping pubescence ; tliei'e is no other puliescence on the legs except a few 

 long pendent whitish hairs beneath the front femora and a few as usual 

 beneath the front tibiie, but these latter hairs are inconspicuous and much 

 shorter than the postero-ventral bristles. Bristles on the front femora quite 

 absent on the underside, but about three postero-dorsal at and after the middle 

 and one small antero-dorsal near the tip ; front tibiae with about three or four 

 irregular small dorsal bristles, three or four irregular postero-dorsal, and the 

 usual three longer equidistant postero-ventral from the middle to the tip, and 

 with one rather long white spur-bristle in the same row ; tip of the front tibiae 

 Avith the usual circlet of spurs which vary very much in colour, as sometimes 

 only the long anterior one is black and sometimes only the posterior one 

 white ; front tarsi with the long posterior bristle near the base of the basal 

 joint whitish, and the bristles on the circlets at the tips of the three basal 

 joints often with the longer ones white and the rather shorter ones black or 

 sometimes with only the posterior bristle white, but with only black bristles 

 on the two last joints : middle femora with two or three small antero-ventral 

 bristles near the middle, one longer antero-dorsal (almost anterior) just after 

 the middle, while close to the tip are one small antero-dorsal and two small 

 lostero-dorsal ; middle tibiae with two dorsal bristles (one at about half the 

 ength and the other at about three-quarters), two small anterior bristles just 

 jelow the corresponding dorsal bristles, two longer ventral nearly opposite 

 the anterior ones, and two or three long postero-ventral, while the anterior spur- 

 bristle is long and black but the rest of the circlet small and white ; middle 

 tarsi with the circlets of bristles black except an anterior white bristle on each 

 of the first and second joints and sometimes some other white bristles ; hind 

 femora with two antero-dorsal bristles and two smaller anterior near the base 

 (but these four sometimes merging into one row), two small postero-dorsal 

 near the tip, three or four small antero-ventral, and one thin almost ventral 

 just before the middle with two or three long thin bristles or bristly hairs in 

 the same row but nearer the base ; hind tibiae with three conspicuous antero- 

 dorsal bristles (one at about a sixth the length, one at half, and one at 

 three-quarters), and three conspicuous postero-dorsal at almost the same level 

 but the first one usually a little further from the base, two or three less 

 conspicuous antero-ventral at and after the middle, and sometimes one small 

 postero-ventral near the base, and the apical circlet of spur-bristles usually 

 white but sometimes with two long ventral ones black ; hind tarsi with the 

 bristles usually all black, but sometimes one white antero-ventral one on each 

 of the first and second joints or even with three white ones on the basal joint. 

 Wings rather smoky with scarcely any gloominess ; veins dark brown but 

 more brownish orange towards the base. Squamae brownish orange, with the 

 margin yellow and bearing a long white rather conspicuous and abundant 

 fringe. Halteres brownish orange. 



Very much like the male but easily distinguished by the ovipositor. Face 

 and frons rather whiter ; frons and the underside of the basal joint of the 

 antennae in some specimens with no pale hairs intermixed with the black ones. 



Thorax with the pubescence and bristles very variable in colour, as of two 

 specimens caught on the same day and place (DyfFryn, July 21, 1888) one has 

 all the bristles black while the other has them all white except the front 

 jDraesutural, and at the same time this latter specimen has the short whitish 

 pubescence on the hinder part of the thorax more obscure than usual ; another 

 specimen caught on the same day has all the postsutural pubescence white ; 

 sometimes all the bristles on the thorax, even including the front praesutural, 

 are white. Scutellum usually as in the male, but in one specimen the long 

 marginal bristles are black. 



Abdomen with the pra^hindmarginal fringes becoming slighter on the later 

 segments ; eighth segment merged into the ovipositor ; ovipositor compressed 

 after the base, and with a circlet of rather short and stout but conspicuous 

 black bristles at the tip (fig. 351) (peculiar to this one of the British Asilince), 

 of which usually about three belong to each lamella but sometimes four (or 

 even five, though then some are smaller) ; beneath this circlet are some more 

 inconspicuous shorter stout bristles, and the whole of the ovipositor bears 

 sparse short pale pubescence which becomes more abundant towards the tip. 



Length about 15 mm. but varying from 12 to 17 mm. 



