A Monograph of Egyptian Dip/era. 25 



men is clothed with very inconspicuous whitish pubescence, which 

 is much longer on the side margins of the basal segment. 



Legs bright orange-yellow with the basal two-thirds of the 

 anterior and posterior femora black; the hind tibia? usually have a 

 dark ring or blotch just after their middle. The hind femora are 

 slightly thickened about the middle, also the basal joint of the hind 

 tarsi is rather swollen ; pubescence pale and inconspicuous but 

 fairly long on the posterior tibise. 



Wings pellucid with the stigma brownish. Squamulse and 

 halteres yellow. 



Female. — Very similar to the male; face sometimes blackish 

 but usually yellow at the sides and obscure in the middle. Frons 

 as well as the thorax rather shining bluish-black. Scutellum 

 entirely shining seneous-black without any traces of yellow. 



Length from 5 to 6 mm. 



This species seems to be rather rare in Cairo and its neigh- 

 bourhood, but fairly common in the Mariout District, where I 

 have obtained a small series in which the two varieties described 

 below outnumbered the type. My records date from February 4th 

 to July 5th. It is known to occur in Africa, throughout Europe 

 and a large portion of North America, as well as in South 

 America. 



Var. trianguliferus Zett., a form in which there is a rather 

 large ferruginous spot on the third segment of the abdomen. 



Var. hcemorrkous Meig., another form in which the abdomen is 

 bright red except the basal and the upper part of the second 

 segment. I possess some specimens which have only the basal 

 segment of the abdomen black and the other four segments entirely 

 reddish. 



These two varieties seem to be quite as common, if not 

 commoner than the type, but up till now I have only obtained them 

 from the Mariout district, at the same time as the type. Lately 

 I have obtained the type as well as the var. trianguliferus in the 

 Wadi Hoff and Wadi Rishrash. 



2. P. AEGYPTIUS MACQ, (PI. \\\. figs. 1. :>, 6). 



Macq., Dipt. Exot.. Suppl.4., 160.2. (1849); Beck., Mitteil. Zool. 

 Mus. Berk, II. 90.126. (1903); Bez., Ditt. Eritrei, II. 12.1. (1908) et 

 Dipt. Syriaca et .Egypt., 56. (20). 86. (1909). 



DIAGNOSIS — Face entirely whitish-yellow in both sexes, 

 scutellum with the tip and often all the lower half yellow in 

 both sexes. 



