230 STKPHID^. 



anteunal prominence, one-third width of head; frons and face 

 mainly shining hlack, but narrowly grey-dusted at sides, and with 

 a little stripe of very short greyish pubescence along sides from 

 cheeks to mouth-opening. A little grey hair in front of lower 

 corner of eyes as in c? . Eye-margins present in both sexes as in 

 Chilosia. Thorax and scutellum aeneous-black, with short 

 yellowish-grey pubescence ; anterior margin of dorsum, including 

 humeri, a little ash-greyish. A fringe of long yellowish -grey 

 wavy hairs placed transversely in front of the wings. Abdomen 

 blackish ; 2ud segment nearly wholly orange-reddish, the colour 

 encroaching on base of 3rd segment, whilst in the 2 the posterior 

 border is also reddish. Extreme tip of abdomen orange-red. 

 Whole abdomen with shoi't greyish pubescence, which is a little 

 longer at the sides. Venter blackisli, with grey pubescence, dull 

 orange-reddish for a considerable space about the 2nd segment. 

 Legs simple but somewhat strong, the femora having small spines 

 below, towards the tips; black, with fairly dense greyish pubescence. 

 Trochanters, base and tips of tibiae, orange-yellow ; under side of 

 hind tarsi (of which the metatarsus is distinctly though not 

 greatly enlarged) brownish-yellow, upper side of 2nd and 3rd 

 joints brown in J . In cJ , first three joints of middle tarsi 

 orange-yellow, as is the whole middle tarsus in the 5 . Exact 

 limits of pale colour in tarsi probably variable. Wings pale 

 yellowish-grey, stigma yellowish, subcostal cell, up to the stigma, 

 brownish ; a barely obvious suffusion immediately before and 

 below the stigma. Halteres pale orange. 



Length. 7-8 mm. 



Described from a S and a 5 in the Indian Museum from 

 Matiana, Simla District (Dr. Annandale). 



It has been rather difficult to place the present species generi- 

 cally in a satisfactory manner. It has every appearance of a 

 Chilosia, even to the eye-margins, which are quite as distinct as 

 in many species of that genus. But Chilosia should have no 

 trace of pale markings, so that the almost wholly orange-red 2nd 

 abdominal segment would exclude the present species from that 

 genus. If it be regarded as belonging to the SYRPniNiE, it works 

 down by Verrall's table of genera to Chrysochlamys, a genus which 

 it is totally unlike in facies, in colour, in the shape of the closed 

 1st posterior cell and in the absence of the thoracic and scutellar 

 bristly hairs. If the exact position of the anterior cross-vein is 

 not regarded as an absolute chai-acter (and Verrall doubted its 

 inviolability), the species under review becomes a Myiolepta, a 

 genus which Verrall places in the Milesiin^, considering its 

 affinities with Tropidia to be greater than those \\'ith the SYEPHi:*iE. 

 He speaks of the genus as of " rather doubtful location." He 

 says the femora are all swollen, and serrate near the tips below, 

 but as Schiner gives the femora as simply "rather thickened" 

 and there seems to be no further discrepancy, the present species 

 is placed here. 



