BASScs. 279 



letely red-marked. Mouth, clypeus, facial orbits, and in cJ 

 epistoina, murks before the red tegulfe, scutellum apieally or 

 entirely, and liind tibial band, white. Legs totally red, with only 

 the hind tarsi, and remainder of their tibiie entirely, black. The 

 (^ with scape beneath and anterior coxte entirely iiavous ; areola 

 verv small and irregular. Three first abdominal segments trans- 

 versely impressed and (in the typical form) apieally red ; basal 

 segment subquadrate, rngosely punctate and im))ressed before the 

 centre, with discal carina^ extending nearly to the anteapical 

 impression. 



Length 4-5| millini. 



SiKKiM : Darjiling, 7000 ft., viii. 09 (C. Paiva—lnd. Mus.) ; 

 Bengal: Katihar, iii. U9 (C. Prt/m): Eajputana: Mt. Abu (CoZ. 

 Nurse). PAL.i:AiiCTic Eegiox. 



Holmgren's variety nemoralis differs from the type-form only in 

 having the abdomen iminaculnte black ; it is much commoner in 

 Europe than that with the incisures red, and the Indian example 

 belongs to it. Trom all otliers of this genus, except i?. multicolor, 

 the present species differs in its entirely pale, red or flavous, 

 anterior coxae and the bicolonred hind tibiae. 



This is an abundant species throughout the Palaearctic region 

 and is met with by sweeping, but more usually on the heads of 

 both Heracleum and Angelica, quite as often in their seeding as 

 in their flowering condition, showing that it is probably not the 

 blossoms which attract them. I have seen the female in England 

 examining the stem of Heradewn sp7iondi/liu7n with her antennae ; 

 it walked over the flowers heedlessly, but was much interested in 

 the colony of Aphis hieracii, Kalt., which covered the plant, 

 doubtless being in search of the larvae of some Sgrphu.?, from 

 which genus I am not aware that the present species has yet been 

 bred. The Indian specimens are sufficiently typical, though th« 

 white tibial band is somewhat broader and the discal carina* 

 of the basal segment less conspicuous than those of British 

 specimens. 



197. Bassus multicolor, Gi-av. ^ 



Bdssus mitlticulor, Gravenborst, John. Eur. iii, 1829, p. 352 (9 ) ; 



Volleuhoven, Pinac. pi. i, fig;. 4 ( c? ) ; Ilolmgreu, Sv. Ak. Handl. 



18.55, p. Hoo ; Morley, Trans. Ent. See. Loud. 1905, p. 4l>5 ( d $ )• 

 Bassus deletus, Thomson, Opusc. Ent. xiv, 1890, p. 1471 (d" $)• 



A punctulate and not very shining species, with the hind tibiae 

 obsoletely red at their apices. Read with the mouth, disc or 

 (in d) whole of clypeus, internal orbits or (in d ) whole face, 

 flavous ; frous smooth or sulcate. Antennm black, filiform and 

 shorter than the body, with the flagellum ferruginous beneath ; 

 scaj)e of (S flavous below. Thorax black, stout and gibbous, 

 with a mark before and a short line beneath the radices flavous ; 

 pleurae strongly nitidulous and obsoletely punctulate ; metathorax 

 rugulose, with the areae obsolete and areola very small. Scutellum 



