154 THE LINNEAN ASCALAPHIDAE. 



australis beiog the type of the genus Theleproctophylla 

 Lefèbvre, the name was changed in Tk. Barbara (L). All 

 later authors accepted this synonymy. 



Comparing for my monograph the original descriptions, 

 I found that Asc. australis F. cannot be the same as 

 barbarus (L.). I give here an exact copy of Linnaeus' des- 

 cription : ^Myrmeleon barbarum: 



M. alis hyalinis, antennis longitudine corporis, clava 

 suborbiculata. 



Corpus M. formicario minus, nigrum, testaceo-variegatum, 

 excepto abdomine hirsutum. Antennae filiformes nigrae, apice 

 clava rhombeo-orbiculata, compressa. Oculi fusci, quibus 

 incumbit quasi palpebra ovata, testacea. Alae deflexae, lan- 

 ceolatae, hyalinae, reticulatae, puncto marginali fusco, ut 

 in Libellulis. Abdomen nigrum linea dorsali flava; subtus 

 flavo-variegatum. Pedes flavi. Frons pilosa. 



Habitat in Barbaria." 



His quotation of Schaeffer's libelloides has nothing to 

 do with this species. Though the description is short and 

 not pointing out the distinctive characters of the species, 

 it is impossible that it is referable to australis F., as the 

 wings of the latter are not lanceolate but more dilated 

 towards the apex, with a round brown spot under the 

 pterostigma and Linnaeus only indicates the fuscous ptero- 

 stigraa. The abdomen is yellow, with a brown stripe in the 

 middle of the dorsum, and for barbarus is indicated a black 

 abdomen with a yellow stripe on the dorsum and the 

 underside variegated with yellow. 



Among the Ascalaphidae that I examined for my mono- 

 graph (about 3000), 1 never saw a Theleproctophi/lla australis F . 

 from North-Africa, and the indication North-Africa by 

 Hagen and others is only based upon Linnaeus. The genus 

 seems to be limited to Spain, the northern coast of the 

 Mediterranean and Asia-minor. Neither Lucas nor Mac 

 Lachlan mention in their publications on Neuroptera of 

 Algeria an Ascalaphus that can be Th. australis (F.). Lucas, 

 however, describes and figures (Explorat. scient. de l'Algérie, 



Notes from theLeyden IMuseum, Vol. XXVUI. 



