THE ATHALIA GROUP OF THE GENUS MELIT^A. 169 



long, dark brown, golden reflections apicall5% eight to the mid lobe; 

 metanotum black; pleurae dusky, with patches of flat white scales 

 and some golden chaetae, one prominent patch. Abdomen steely 

 black, with dusky black scales and basal white scaled bands and 

 basal white lateral spots, which run a little along the sides of the 

 segments; border-bristles golden, short in the middle, long at the 

 sides ; basal segment all dark scaled with two patches of short dusky 

 hairs, golden at their apices and longer ones at the sides of similar 

 hue ; venter black, with broad basal white bands. 



Legs dark blackish-brown ; the fore pair with a small pale spot 

 at the apex of the femora and tibiae, and a narrow pale band at the 

 junction of the metatarsus and first tarsal; mid legs similar, but 

 traces of banding at the junction of the first and second tarsals as 

 well ; hind legs with the narrow banding more pronounced ; ungues 

 all equal and simple. 



Wings with the fork-cells rather short, the first sub-marginal 

 longer and narrower than the second posterior, its base if anything 

 slightly nearer the apex of the wing, its stem about half the length 

 of the cell; stem of the second posterior also about half the length of 

 the cell ; posterior cross-vein longer than the mid, about two and a 

 half times its own length distant from it. Scales brown, dense, 

 median ones of short broad Tceniorhynchus type, lateral ones straight, 

 narrow, but broader than in Culex. Length, 5 mm. 



Hah. Suva, Fiji (F, Jepson). 



Time of Capture, February 8th, 1910. 



Observations. Described from a perfect female, caught by Mr. 

 Jepson in his laboratory. A very distinct species, near to Culex 

 nocturnus, Theobald, from the same island, but the ungues 

 being simple, not uniserrate on the fore and mid legs as in that 

 species, at once separate it. In the latter also the abdominal 

 bands bend in the middle, and on some segments do not form 

 actual bands. Nor hasjtfjjsoni the well-marked median lateral 

 spots seen in C. nocturnus. 



Another female shows the venter of the abdomen mostly pale 

 scaled, and the pale lateral spots are much larger than in the 

 type, and is probably a distinct species but too damaged to 

 describe. 



THE ATHALIA GROUP OF THE GENUS MELITMA. 

 By Rev. George Wheeler, M.A., F.ES. 



(Continued from p. 136.) 



Before considering the question of the male genitalia, with 

 special reference to the group before us, it seems to me necessary 

 to make certain observations and to venture certain opinions on 

 the subject at large. There can, I think, be no doubt that the 

 likenesses and differences between these structures are of great 

 phylogenetic value, and are moreover in most cases an important 



