147 



head posteriorly at the sides. Antennae with the third joint 

 yellow, not sharply pointed at the apex. 



Thorax shining, 'blackish aeneous, with some whitish tonien- 

 tuni at the sides in front and on the pleura, more densely tomen- 

 tose on the metanotum; scutellum with extremely fine, short 

 marginal hairs; halteres pale in the middle, dark at base, and 

 more or less so on the apical portion. Wings distinctly cloud- 

 ed, stigma dark brown, not reaching back to the apex of the 

 auxiliary vein, third costal segment as long as the fourth, small 

 cross-vein welf beyond the apex of the auxiliary, the upper ex- 

 tremity of the posterior cross-vein a little before the apex of the 

 first longitudinal. Legs black or dark; the apex of femora, the 

 tibiae and tarsi (except the apical joint) yellow or pale, the tibiae 

 more or less darkened with brown or fuscous. 



Abdomen shining, aeneous, more piceous or brownish to- 

 wards the base, blacker apically, the basal segment and the sec- 

 ond (more or less) clothed with grey tomentum; hypopygium 

 twisted to' the right, impressed at the base, and with a definite 

 area or impression at the tip, within which the surface appears 

 to be paler in colour. Length 2.5 mm. 



HAB. Kuranda, near Cairns, X. Queensland. 



18. P. mi erodes, sp. nov. 



Male: head with the eye-margins touching for about half the 

 distance from the ocelli to the antennae, the front and face black, 

 with little or no pale tomentum, space between the eyes be- 

 neath the antennae extremely narrow; head posteriorly with fus- 

 cous tomentum. becoming whitish at the sides. Antennae with 

 the third joint pale, not at all acute at the tip. 



Thorax somewhat shining, and covered, but not densely, with 

 fuscous tomentum the mdtathorax densely clothed with grey ; 

 scutellum with a few short and extremely fine marginal hairs. 

 Halteres pale, dark at base. Wings somewhat smoky, third cos- 

 tal segment as long as. or rather longer than, the fourth; pos- 

 terior cross-vein hardly oblique, its upper extremity before the 

 termination of the second longitudinal. Legs with the troch- 

 anters, base and apex of femora, tibiae and tarsi nearly entireh% 

 yellow. 



Abdomen deep black on the three basal segments, the second 

 and third with lateral spots of grey tomentum. two following 

 segments in some aspects smooth and shining, somewhat metal- 



