28 THE DirTERA-liRACTIYCERA OF TASMANIA, 



rncr of these P. quotient may be distinguished by having 

 the femora and hind tibiae orange-yellow instead of black- 

 brown, from the latter by the antennae being black, with 

 the third joint only half the length of the first, instead 

 of pale yellow, with the first and third joints of almost 

 equal length, and finally from P. imitant, next to be 

 described, by the antennae being black instead of orange, 

 and by the first joint being longer than the third instead 

 of vice versa. 



P. quotient may be found settled on, or flying about, 

 logs in the bush. It has a habit when at rest of wav- 

 ing its fore legs to and fro, which gives it the appear- 

 ance of a hymenopteron with waving antennae. The males 

 occur not uncommonly in the bush round the Bagdad 

 Valley, and seem to be gregarious. The females are 

 extremely rare; duiing four seasons' collecting I have 

 only found a single specimen ; it occurred settled on a 

 log, in a similar situation to that frequented by the 

 males. My dates range from October 26 to December 29. 



Phycus imitans, Sp. nov. (Fig. 15). 



Antennae orange, the first joint shorter than the third : 

 front and thorax black ; abdomen black, with anal seg- 

 ment yellow; legs orange, anterior and middle tarsi yel- 

 low ; wings hyaline with two black transverse bands 

 across the middle, and a suffused spot towards the tip. 



Length. Female, 10 mm. 



Hab. Wedge Bay. 



Fig. 15. Head of Phycus imitans. 

 Female. Head produced in front; face and front black, 

 the latter shining on the lower half and at vertex, between 

 which it is rugose; back of head black and shining. Pro- 

 boscis orange-brown ; palpi bright orange, unusually 

 large, and "extending beyond the proboscis. Antenna- 

 orange, the third joint with the tip black and base brown- 

 ish; the first joint, which bears black bristles, is a little 

 shorter than the head, the second joint very short,, the> 

 third broader and longer than the first. Thorax black, 

 ▼ery lightly dusted with grey, and bearing short black 



