.1 Mouograph o/ Egyplian Diplcra 57 



METASPHENISCUS GRACILIPES, Loew. 

 (PI. II, fig. 10) 



Lw., Berlin. Entom. Zeitschr., VI. 90. (182) 



cijdopica, Bez., Bull. Soc. Entom. Ital., XXXIX. I-IV. 152. 

 213. [Acidia) (1908) et Bull. Entom. Research, IV. I. 23.3. {Teph- 

 relhi) (1918). 



ir- fil se II m. Enderl., ZooI. Jahr'o., XXXI. 42o. {'!'<' phielhi) 

 (1911). 



DIAGNOSIS: — A .small, pretty species with a metallic black 

 hody; black wings, whicli possesses two hyaline indentations on the 

 front border and three on the hind border, as well as an isolated 

 hyaline spot; and a long, broad and flattened ovipositor. 



Maie and Female. Eength of hody : 4.5 — 5.4 mm., ovipositor : 

 ? 5 mm., wing : 5 mm. 



DE SCRIPT ION.— Head entirely dull reddish-yellow and 

 i-^overed with pale tomentum, except the ocellar triangle blackish and 

 the epistoma shining black; on the cheeks there are some minute, 

 l.lickish, bristly hairs; ail the bristles are dark brown except the 

 stvong and characteristic ocp. white. 



Thorax, on the dise and pleurae, as well as the scutellum, of a 

 Miifoim black ground colour and entirely covered with a dense and 

 fin(> })ale dust, which gives it a very dull grey appearance; wh.eii 

 held, i;owever, in certain lights the three usual longitudinal luics 

 r<re well seen on the dise; the pube.scence is verv short, adpressed 

 and pale; ail the bristles are vellowish-brown and towards the apex 

 blackish 



Abdomen of a characteristic metallic black colour, rather shi- 

 lling, and possessing a short, adpressed brown pubescence ; on the •A\)ex 

 of the fifih segment, in the maie only, there is a row of black isii 

 bristles Maie hypopygium small, globular, shining black, .-iîk: 

 l'earing some bristles; female ovipositor longer than the abdon.en 

 iuA shining metallic black. 



Legs entirely reddish-yellow. 



Wings fairly large and elongate, black with deep hyaline in- 

 dentations at the front and hind borders; the Ist and 2nd Costal 

 cells are hyaline as well as the entire wing base; in the front border 

 there are two hyaline indentations and one oval hyaline spot; the 

 first indentation is immediately after the stigma, with its inner 

 margin touching the latter, and extending downwards as far as 

 R4 4-5 before the radio-median cross vein; the second jndentation 

 is a little deeper, situated after the radio-median cross-vein and 

 reaching down about half way between R4-f 5 and Ml ; the oval hya- 



