MERODON. 1OL 
the lateral ones are abbreviated in front and almost interrupted 
towards the suture; pleure shining neous, with grey hair; 
seutellum entirely blackish zeneous, pale- -haired. Squamule lurid, 
with a yellowish fringe. Abdomen broad and rounded at the 
apex, not conical; it is shining dark tawny with some bluish 
reflexions ; first segment very small and blackish; second with 
a narrow black fore border, not reaching the sides, an obsolete 
median black band and two orange lateral spots, forming an 
interrupted band; third and fourth with a transverse yellowish 
pellucid median band, interrupted towards the middle, that of 
the third paler, the hair is whitish, pure white on the transverse 
bands, but that on the orange spots is orange; genitalia large 
and rounded, but not prominent, black; venter reddish yellow, 
clothed with long pale hair, like that on the sides. Coxe and 
‘femora shining black, narrowly yellow at the apex, with grey 
hair; hind femora moderately thickened, with a short but strong 
pre-apical tooth; hind trochanters rounded, simple; tibie black, 
with the basal third yellow, whitish pilose, those of the hind 
pur without any apical tooth; tarsi brownish yellow, the last 
joint black. Wings grey, unspotted, with typical venation, but 
the discal cell broader and its inferior corner provided with a short 
but distinct stump. 
Type 3, a single specimen from Durban, 24. x. 1902 (F. Muir). 
108. Merodon melanocerus, sp. 1 
2. Length of the body 12 mm. 
A species very like grecus, Loew, and probably belonging to the 
armipes-group of Dr. Sack’s s Monograph, but distinguished | by the 
entirely black antenne ; perhaps, however, more allied to seg getum 
and belonging to the manium-group. 
Frons neous black, the ocellar portion anda median longitudinal 
line being shining, the sides covered with grey pollen; face shining 
black, with sparse white hair; edge of “buceal cav ity very pro- 
minent ; antennz black, the third joint attenuated at the apex, 
twice as ‘long as broad ; proboscis black; eyes with grey hair. Thorax 
shining black, with short erey hair and no distinet bands. Scutellum 
entirely black, pale- haired: squamule white, with a yellowish fringe. 
Abdomen shining black as in grecus; the bands of white pollen on 
the second and third segments are straight and narrowly interrupted 
towards the middle, that of the fourth is triangularly produced 
forwards in the middle; the sides are clothed with dense yellow 
hair; the hind borders of second to fourth are yellowish with white 
margins. Legs simple, dull black, with yellow knees. Wings 
oreyish hyaline, with typical venation ; lower angle of the discal 
cell rounded, not appendiculated. 
Type 9, a single specimen from Piet Retief, Transvaal, 25. x. 
1903 (4. Crawshay). 
