LEPTID^ 759 



specimen. I have a note that this was supposed to be the Leptis gracilis of 

 Curtis' Guide, Ed. ii., 243, but Curtis himself stated that his Leptis gracilis 

 was the same as Leptis diadema ( = Chrysopilus aureus). 



16 Z. conspictia Meig. I included this species in my List of British Diptera (1888) 



upon a wrongly identified specimen of L. tringaria, and the Rev. W. J. 

 Wingate recorded it as common at Hcsleden in Durham, but his specimens 

 were L. nigriventris Lw. It was reputed as long ago as Curtis' Guide (Ed. ii.), 

 243 (1837), but the true L. conspicua is very distinct from anything that I 

 have seen in British collections. A specimen labelled conspicua in the old 

 collection at the British Museum is L. tringaria var. vanellus. 



17 L. immacidata Meig. Stephens recorded this in 1829 (Syst. Cat., ii., 270) as 



having occurred near London, and gave reconditus Harris (Expos. Brit. Ins., 

 101, t. 31, f. 3) as a synonym, but I consider ^S*. reconditus Harris to represent 

 the var. vanellus of L. tringaria, and Curtis in Brit. Ent., 705 (1838) had 

 already come to that conclusion. A specimen labelled immacidata in the old 

 collection in the British Museum is only L. tringaria with yellow stripes on 

 the thorax. There may have been some confusion among the older authors 

 between this species and Symphoromyia immaculata Meig. 



18 Chrysopilus helvohis Meig. Stephens in Syst. Cat., ii., 269 (1829) gave Leptis 



helveola as having occurred near London. Curtis in Brit. Ent., 713 (1838) 

 said " June, Hampstead Heath : males beginning of August, ditches, 

 " Sandwich," but I think he quoted from Donovan. All the British specimens 

 that I have seen under this name are only C. cristatiis Fabr. 



19 C.flaveolus Meig. was recorded as British by Stephens and Curtis at the same 



time as the preceding species, and Curtis said " End of May, Nettle Abbey ; 

 " end of June in woods, Dorset ; and the females in marshes at Horning," but 

 I think he again quoted from Donovan. Specimens so labelled in the old 

 collection of the British Museum are all C. cristatus Fabr. 



20 C. auratus Fabr. The common British species has always up to the present 



time been believed to be true C. auratus, but is in my opinion a distinct 

 species which I have described as C. cristatus Fabr. It is not at all unlikely 

 that the true C. auratus may also occur in Britain but I have never seen 

 any satisfactory British specimens. 



21 C. atratus Fabr. Until recent times this species has also been considered to be 



only a synonym of C. auratus, and as such has been recorded in our British 

 Lists. The true G. atratus Fabr. is now believed to be an allied but distinct 

 South European species, which is probably the same as C. sictdus Lw. 



22 Symphoromyia mekena Meig. was included in Stephens' Catalogue (p. 270, 1829) 



as having occurred near London, and Walker in 1836 (Entom. Mag., iii., 180) 

 said " May, in woods near London. The male probably belongs to the genus 

 " Spania, Meigen. The disposition of the nervures of the wings varies very 

 "much." In 1851 Walker (Ins. Brit. Dipt., i., 71) said "Bare (E.S.)." I 

 think it probable that Walker's record in 1836 referred to Ptiolirux ohscura, 

 but his record of 1851 to Symphoromyia immaculata. I have never seen an 

 undoubted British specimen, but there was a record in The Naturalist of April 

 1880 by Benjamin Cooke of a specimen taken at Whaley Bridge in Cheshire, 

 which however I have but little doubt referred to Ptiolina obscura. The 

 Pt. mehena of the Entomological Club was represented by Ptiolina obscura. 

 Nevertheless I think S. mehma is likely to occur in Britain. 



