XAXTHOGRAMMA, 95 



and normally iniicli shorter than in its nearest ally Splwrophoria ; 

 also iiorinally luarginate. 



Raiuje. E]iirope, North America. India. 



Life-histori/. The larvje are said to live in earth-heaps and in turl". 

 Luudbeclv (Dipt. Dauica, v, p. 355 (1916)) doubts Brauer's 

 suggestion that they are found in ants' nests. 



^iintho(/i'a))ima nnd Sphcerojjhoria are clearly very closely related, 

 and their separation rests mainly on comparatively arbitrary 

 characters. 



In Kertesz' Catalogue of Pakcarctic Diptera, »S'. scuteUaris* is 

 referred to Xantho</ramma, thoughjavaaa, Wied., is retained under 

 Sphcnrophorla. As a matter of fact, both scutellaris and javana 

 are to some extent intermediate between the two genera. Xantho- 

 gramma is characterised by a broad flat abdomen, as compared 

 with the long' narro\v abdomen of Splnvj-ajylwria, Schiner separated 

 the two also by the 5- or 6-segmeuted abdomen and inconspicuous 

 (S genitalia in the former, as compared with the 7-segmented 

 abdomen witli prominent S genitalia in the latter. To these 

 characters Verrall adds the marginate edge of the abdomen 

 in Xanthof/ramma. When the principal European species of 

 XaniJior/ramma (citiofasciatum, oraatum and dives) are compared 

 with the common European Spluerophoricv, their separation on the 

 width of the abdomen is easy enougli, but tlie two Oriental species 

 in question break down the barrier between them. Scutellaris 

 has a 5-segmented abdomen in the 6 with prominent genitalia, 

 a 6-segmented abdomen in the $ , the abdomen being moder- 

 ately marginate in both sexes. In javana the abdomen 

 occasionally is a little marginate, and is 5-8egmented in both sexes 

 ( S genitalia not prominent), but in one $ six segments can be 

 distinctly seen. 



As regards ia.c\e%, javana has much more the appearance of a 

 Xanthogramma than has scatellaris, the yellow and black colours 

 being very sharply defined. My Si/rphvs inaadi pleura may be a 

 XantJuy/rarnma, as noted under the descriptioii of the species. 



7G. Xanthogramma citrinum, sp. nov. (PI. II, fig. 20.) 



S 2 • ^J^^dd : vertical triangle in cS very small, black with black 

 hairs and ruby-red ocelli ; eyes closely contiguous for a consider- 

 able distance ; upper and middle facets enlarged nearly as much 

 as in Lasiopticus', irons and face orange-yellow, a large trian- 

 gular s[)ace above antennae more brownish-orange ; frons with 

 moderately thick short black pubescence ; face with verv 

 sparse pale yellow pubescence; mouth-border narrowly rather 

 orange; proboscis black and orange. Autenniu brownish-orange, 

 upper .side darker. Cheeks pale orange. Occipital margin 

 yellowish-grey \\ith yellow fringe and (in c? only) black short 



* Since writing tlie above I have learned of the genus Ischiodon, erected by 

 ^ack for this species ; see below, p. 97. 



