360 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. lil 



Sepsis spectabilis, Meij. 



Specimens of both sexes collected by Dr. Annandale at Mad- 

 dathorai, i8-xi-o8, Pallode, i5-xi-o8, and Nedumangad, i4-xi-o8 

 (all Travancore, South India), are certainly referable to this 

 species, and agree very well with specimens named by Meijere. I 

 have a 9 in my own collection which I took at Penang, 3 — 8- 

 viii-o6 ; and two specimens taken by me in Calcutta, 6-X-04 and 

 6-iii-05. It is a somewhat variable species, as stated by its author. 



Sepsis brevicosta, mihi, sp. nov. 



cf 9 . India. Long, 3 mm. 



This species is very closely allied to spectabilis, Meij., and for 

 some time I regarded it as a variety of that species, especially as 

 I had seen no rf that I could join with the 9 form. However, a 

 cf captured recently in Calcutta agrees so well that I am con- 

 strained to believe it to be this species. 



The fore femora are not easil}'' seen in the specimen, but they 

 are fairly strongly thickened on the basal two-thirds, and bear a 

 strong spine some distance from the base, a small bump with three 

 or four strong short spines, and possibly a further spine or two on 

 the distal portion. 



The fore tibiae bear a short row of short spines at the base. 

 In this species the dorsum of the thorax is much more covered 

 with short black bristles than in spectabilis ; and the sternopleura 

 alone are blue-grey dusted, instead of this colour being carried for- 

 ward as in Meijere's species. 



The abdomen is wholly black, except the (usually) reddish 

 basal portion of the second segment. Another and more striking 

 peculiarity is the costal vein, which becomes suddenly so faint as 

 to appear to terminate abruptly just beyond the second longitudi- 

 nal vein. In nineteen specimens of true spectabilis examined by me 

 (including a cr and two 5 9 sent by Herr Meijere), this latter pecu- 

 Harity is not present; yet I have seen it occasionally in specimens 

 of rufa, Macq., and a tendency to it in two specimens I refer to 

 the vicinity of my rufipcctus. Moreover, the tip of the wing 

 just below the apparent termination of the costa, is distinctly 

 whitish, another character that I have not observed in specta- 

 bilis. 



The two species are about equal in size, and brevicosta seems 

 to be generally distributed in India. 



The only & I have seen comes from Calcutta, 28-V-09. 

 Females are from Calcutta, 24--28-iv-09, Shencottah, 25-xi-o8 

 [Annandale']; Tinpahar, Bengal, 7-vii-09. The Pusa collection 

 has it from Pusa, 26-xi-o8, taken on a manure heap at that place; 

 also one from Lahore, May 1907. A 9 in my collection was taken 

 by me in Calcutta, 28-X-04. 



