I9I3«J E. Brunetti : Diptera. 183 



Wings pale grey. Costa as far as auxiliary vein quite clear, 

 thence narrowh' blackish up to just l3eyond the tip of the 4th 

 longitudinal vein. A median blackish longitudinal streak fills the 

 1st basal cell, and extends in attenuated form to the upper end of 

 the posterior cross-vein ; 2iid basal, anal and discal cells, and 

 remainder of wing wholly clear. Halteres dirtv yellow. 



Descyihed from a single a' from Sadiya, 25-xi-ii. 



Stcnopterina aenea, Wied. 



One specimen from Dibrugarh, 17 — 19-xi-ii, is either this 

 species or eques, Sch., and I am not convinced that these two 

 forms are really distinct. Yet when describing eques (from six 

 specimens) Schiner had also before him three examples that he 

 referred to aenea. The characters he draws do not seem at all 

 consistent. There is much variation in a small series in the 

 Indian Museum which I had previously referred to aenea, and a 

 close approximation to two specimens sent by Herr Meijere from 

 Java as eques. The amount of reddish colour in the face, about 

 the mouth, on the antennae and occasional!}^ the frons also, and 

 also its extent at the femora tips, the length of the median longi- 

 tudinal black streak on the wing, the violet or bluish shoulder 

 tips and other characters all seem liable to variation indepen- 

 dently of one another. 



Nerius obscurus, mihi. sp. nov. 



$ N.E. Frontier of India. Long. 6\ mm. (excl. ovipositor). 



Head. — Chocolate brown on frons and upper side of neck ; 

 sides of head dark brown, very shining. Underside of head, pro- 

 boscis and palpi yellowish. Antennae with rst and 2nd joints 

 subequal, 3rd a little longer, tip rounded, arista white, yellow 

 at base (a character common to several species); the antennae 

 brownish yellow, more or less marked with black, especially on 

 upper side of all three segments. 



Thorax. — Yellowish brown ; dorsum, sternopleurae and meta- 

 notum chocolate brown. 



Abdomen. — Dark chocolate brown ; ovipositor two-thirds the 

 length of the abdomen. 



Legs. — Coxae brown, femora brownish yellow, with narrowly 

 black tips and a narrow yellow ring^ incomplete below, just 

 before the black tips. All femora with a row of minute bristly 

 hairs below, from base to tip, weakest on hind legs; middle 

 femora without any very short stiff bristly hairs on upper side 

 towards base. Anterior tibiae dark brown, hind pair lighter ; all 

 tarsi black. 



Wings. — Yellowish ; 3rd longitudinal vein nearly straight, 4th 

 approximating normally to 3rd at the tip. Tip of 2nd vein, of 

 the 3rd and 4th veins jointly, and both cross-veins very faintly 



