BY G. H. HARDY. 67 



Phthiria pallipes, Bigot, Ann. Soc. Ent. France (7), xli., 

 1892, p. 367. 



Synonymy. — Apparently all the descriptions were taken 

 from one variable species. 



Description. — Female. A yellow and black species of 

 very variable colour pattern; the eyes are widely separated. 



Male. — This sex has not hitherto been described; it is 

 of small size, and obscure black in colour with yellow mark- 

 ings restricted to the apex of the abdominal segments. 



The head is black, the eyes are contiguous, the ocellar 

 triangle is very small, and contains a little black pubescence; 

 the antennal triangle and the face seen laterally stand 

 prominently forward in front of the eyes. The antennas are 

 about as long as the head; the first joint is nearly twice the 

 length of the second; the third joint is twice the length of 

 the basal joints united and contains a minute subapical dorsal 

 arista. The face, front, and antennae as far as the middle 

 of the third segment are covered with long black pubescence. 

 The black pubescence on the cheeks extends into the black 

 and yellow pubescence on the upper half of the occiput. 



The thorax and scutellum are covered with a velvety 

 black vestiture, and with long pubescence reflecting a whitish 

 or reddish colour according to the angle at which it is viewed. 



Dorsally the abdomen contains a velvety black vestiture, 

 and the apices of the segments are margined yellow laterally; 

 ventrally the abdomen is mostly yellow, but the bases of the 

 last three segments and a pair of spots at the base of the 

 two prior segments are black. The whole abdomen is covered 

 with a similar pubescence to that of the thorax. 



The legs are black; a pubescence similar to that on the 

 thorax extends to the coxae and femora, and merges into the 

 fuscous pubescence on the tibiae and tarsi. 



The wings are hyaline, but there is a deep yellow tinge 

 in the mediastinal cell. 



Length. — Male, 5 mm. 



Hah. — New South Wales; the allotype male, described 

 above, was taken at Blackheath on the 25th November, 1919 ; 

 there are three paratype males and six females from the 

 same locality taken between the 16th and 25th November, 

 1919. Further specimens are represented in various col- 

 lections under revision. 



Victoria; Timboon, one female in the collection of Dr. 

 Ferguson was collected by H. W. Davey. 



