76 Records of the Indian Museum. [Vol. IV, 



and the eyes in front considerably approximate, the moderately 

 wide eye margins separated by a narrow black stripe, and thus the 

 distance between the eyes less by about a third than the breadth 

 of a single eye, not as in the cf of calcitrans, frons broad, fuscous, 

 and hardly narrower than a single eye. Moreover, in sitiens the 

 pubescence of the three basal grey abdominal segments is gre3^er, 

 especially towards the sides ; the rest as in calcitrans. 



The four specimens in the Indian Museum collection tentatively 

 regarded by Mr. Austen as possibly sitiens were collected by me 

 at Calcutta, i8-ii-05, Penang, 8-viii-o6, and Rangoon, 23-xii-04 to 

 3-i-05, but they are all, unfortunately, in poor condition, and exact 

 identification is, perhaps, impossible. Other specimens in my own 

 collection taken by me in the same localities are in no better state 

 of preservation. 



Now, Bezzi states (" Mosche ematofaghe," Rend. Istit. lomb., 

 1907, p. 14) that he has seen a considerable number of specimens 

 of sitiens from Eritrea and notes that the principal difference from 

 calcitrans is its narrower frons ; adding that he believes Rondani 

 was in error in stating the frons to be splendid shining white, as 

 he finds it has an even greater tendenc}^ to yellow than in cal- 

 citrans. 



Secondly, he, in his table of species, divides brunnipes, Griinb., 

 from sitiens, Rond., by the former having ' ' at least the four anterior 

 tibiae all pale on the outside," whilst of sitiens he says " tibiae 

 at the base narrowly pale," calcitrans also, be it noted, falling in the 

 same subdivision in his table. The four Museum specimens being 

 all $ 9 the test of the width of the frons does not apply. The frons 

 is certainly more whitish than in average calcitrans, but not more 

 so than in occasional specimens of it. The specimens are in too bad 

 condition for accurate description, but it maybe noted that the abdo- 

 minal spots are more elongate than in normal calcitrans ; a dorsal 

 stripe is present on the 2nd segment, extending over part of the 

 3rd ; all the tibiae are dull reddish brown (much brighter in one 

 example) ; the 2nd joint of the antennae is more or less reddish. 



A second specimen in the Indian Museum from Calcutta, 14-iv- 

 08 , agrees with sitiens with the exception of all the tibiae being red- 

 dish brown, the middle pair lighter still, almost yellowish. The 

 frons is glistening shining white, one-seventh in width, and the 

 abdominal spots similar to calcitrans. Rondani mentions that 

 the pubescence of the abdomen is grey toward the sides, but in the 

 present specimen it is uniformly black. 



It is possible it may be an Oriental form of the African species, 

 but personally I have found that the wholly brownish tibiae, when 

 present as a character, are always consistently so. 



Likewise, in calcitrans and those species which have only the 

 base of the tibiae pale, the colour rarely, if ever, extends over more 

 than the middle of the limb. 



That sitiens is a good species, distinct from calcitrans by the 

 narrow frons, with the shining white frons as a secondary character, 

 seems clear, but I doubt if any specimen of it has come before me. 



