80 STRATIOMYID^, 



15-25. V. 1914 (Fletcher) ; Coonoor, Nilgiri Hills, S. India, vi. 1912 

 {Ccq^t. Sewell) ; Peradeniya, Ceylon, 26.vii.1910; Margherita, 

 Sadiya, Assam; Tiira, Garo Hills, Assam, 1917 (Kemp). 



51. Ptecticiis cingulatus, L^v., \ar. ceylonicus, nov. 



Ptecticus ciiit/ulatus, Loew, Verli. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, v, p. 143 

 (1855). 



Allied to P. aia-ifer, A\^alk., except in the wings and genitalia. 

 cJ 2 . ifead : frons shining black, with black pubescence, from 

 vertex to point of nearest approach of eyes where they are almost 

 actually contiguous ; frontal triangle lemon-yellow or orange- 

 yellow ; rest of head as in aurifer. Thorax as in aurifer ; traces 

 of three faint longitudinal dorsal stripes in some specimens. 

 Ahdomen orange, with a transverse oval black spot on each segment 

 from the 2iid to tlie 5th, placed just behind fore border and quite 

 clear of side and hind margins ; the spots larger in the $ , prac- 

 tically placed on anterior margins, also reaching side-margins on 

 2ud segment. Grenitalia quite differently constructed from those 

 of aurifer and undjyii ; much narrower, composed of a pair of two- 

 jointed claspers and a large curved dorsal plate ending in a narrow 

 style and two lamellae ; the organs placed sideways ; genitalia in $ 

 small, concealed. Legs orange, a brownish streak on outer side 

 of bind femora which curves round to the upper side towards tip, 

 where it dies away ; it is not at all conspicuous and is easily over- 

 looked, yet it seems one of the principal characters of the species ; 

 hind tibiae and hind metatarsi black ; 2nd and 3rd joints of latter 

 whitish, remaining joints blackish ; anterior legs all orange, except 

 the tips of the tarsi, which are a little browner. Winrjs uniformly 

 pale yellowish grey ; 3rd veinlet from discal cell more strongly 

 bisinuate than in aurifer. 

 Lengthy 14-18 mm. 



Described from Q S 6 audi 5 in the Indian Museum frouiKandy, 

 v-vii. 1910 ; Santi Koppa, N. Coorg, S. India, 4-9. v. 1914. 



From the peculiar white 2nd and 3rd hind tarsal joints and the 

 curved streak on the hind femora I am compelled to regard this 

 form as cingulatus, Loew, as these characters do not appear in 

 any other species. From his description, however, I originally 

 assumed the wing to be half yellow and half black, as in the 

 aurifer group ; but it may perhaps be uudei'stood to mean 

 yellowish brown at the base and in front, and the remainder 

 more of a smutty brownish colour, although this does not 

 properly agree with the wings in the above-described form. 

 I have seen four specimens in the Sarawak Museum collection 

 from Borneo that agree still more (apart from the same doubt 

 as I'egards the wings) with Loew's description, as the black 

 abdominal bands are of uniform width and actually reach the 

 side-margins in all oases. 



