.1 Monograph of Egyptian Diplera. 35 



and fifth joints and possess minute black bristles on the dorsal 

 surface and a short but very tufted tawny-yellow pubescence on 

 the ventral surface. 



Wings pellucid, with the extreme base, the stigma and the 

 subcostal cell yellowish. Squamulse and their fringes pale yellow, 

 and the margins dark yellow. Halteres yellow, yellowish-brown or 

 orange-yellow. 



Female: (PI. Ill, fig. 9). The shape of the abdomen is more like 

 that of the narrow-bodied species of Syr pints or Xanthogramma, 

 from which the yellow side-margins of the thorax and the yellow 

 markings of the pleurae at once distinguish it. 



Frons brightly shining black on the upper half and down 

 about the middle third to nearly the base of the antennae, the 

 sides of this part being yellowish and shining ; there is a pecu- 

 liar faintly raised triangle,extending outwards from the antennae 

 to the eyes, below which the upper part of the face has a faint 

 greenish tinge ; the pubescence on the upper part of the frons is 

 blackish, pale below, and mostly erect. 



Thorax with a rather shorter pubescence than in the male. 

 Abdomen rather shining, about four times as long as its broadest 

 point, which is usually about the base of the third segment, from 

 which it very gradually narrows to the end of the sixth segment; 

 the side margins of the abdomen are entirely yellow and in typical 

 ,S'. scripta with entire yellow bands on the second, third and fourth 

 segments, of which the band on the second segment is the narrow- 

 est, and the band on the fourth segment is emarginate in the 

 middle, behind; the fifth segment has the basal corners and a dorsal 

 line black, as well as two large black spots on the hind margin, 

 which are rather broadly connected with the dorsal line ; the sixth 

 segment has a brownish-black spot on the middle of the base, and 

 two smaller ones on the hind margin ; the seventh segment is 

 brownish-black with orange-yellow sides ; pubescence mainly 

 following the ground colour, short, except about the basal part and 

 the sides. 



Length from 11 (male) to 9 (female) mm. 



This species, as well as all those belonging to this genus, arc 

 liable to great variations, especially as regards the abdominal 

 markings, such as shape, interruption and sharpness of definition 

 of the yellow abdominal bands, as well as the colour of the legs. 

 Out of ten specimens which I possess, six males and four females 

 (which I believe to be the only ones existing in collections from 

 Egypt) there are not two males exactly alike as regards the abdo- 

 minal markings, and of the four females, three are very dark 

 forms, possessing a black line down the middle of the face, the 



