1909.] E. Brunetti : New Leptidce and BomhylidcB. 229 



Geron albescens, mihi, sp. nov. 



cf . Orissa Province (Bengal Presidency), Long. 5 mm. 



Head black. Eyes contiguous almost to the antennae, redu- 

 cing the frontal triangle almost to a point. Facets of uniform size. 

 Vertex considerably raised, small, with some rather short black 

 hairs ; ocelli red. Mouth black, grey bordered ; face small, squar- 

 ish, black, a cluster of drooping snowy scales on each side of the 

 base of the antennae Proboscis black, tip curled. Antennae black, 

 microscopically grey dusted, tips of first and second joints narrowly 

 pale, which joints are covered with greyish hair. Back of head 

 black, long yellow hair above and grejash below. Some white 

 small scales on hind border of eyes. 



Thorax velvet-black ; dorsum covered with bright yellowish 

 hair, which on the shoulders becomes greyish, below which can be 

 seen the humeral calli, grey, perforated with small holes. Under 

 side ash-grey, covered with long grey hair and some grey scales. 

 Scutellum black, yellow-haired. 



Abdomen black, covered close to the surface with small 

 recumbent yellow hairs ; each . segment bearing on its extreme 

 posterior border a row of long deflexed grey hairs. Sides with some- 

 what thick and long grey hair. Belly wholly covered with small 

 silvery white scales and long grey hair. 



Legs (fore legs missing) pale tawny, with a pinkish white 

 microscopic pubescence ; coxae, tips of femora, hind tarsi wholly, 

 and middle pair towards tip, black. Middle femora with a little 

 soft hair below. 



Wings quite clear, veins pale yellowish on basal half. Hal- 

 teres yellowish, knob briajht lemon- yellow. 



Described from a nearly perfect cf in the Indian Museum col- 

 lection, taken by Mr. Gaunter at Balugaon, Puri district of Orissa, 

 on the east coast of India, i4-xii-o8. 



NOTE ON COMASTES, Os. Sac. 



This genus, I am convinced, is not Oriental, although the late 

 Herr van der Wulp renoved a species of his own {pulchellus) from 

 Bombylius to this genus. Described first in the Tijd. voor Ent., 

 xxiii, 164, with an excellent plate (plate x, fig. 8) giving the full 

 insect, he referred it to Comastes, in Notes Leyd. Mus., vii, 85. 

 It is, however, certainly not a Comastes, as that genus possesses 

 three characters which are altogether absent in pulchellus ; these 

 are the long style, as long as the third sntennal joint itself, the 

 emarginated eves, and the punctiform contact of the second submar- 

 ginal with the first posterior cell. There can be no possible doubt 

 that a perfect specimen, a female, captured recently in South 

 India by Dr. Annandale, belongs to this species, being identical 

 with van der Wulp s description and plate, and it is far too brilli- 

 ant and conspicuous a species to be mistaken. Moreover that 



