174 Miss G. Ricardo on 



above, from it extends on each side of the face to the antennse 

 a line of short yellow and black bristles. Palpi black, with 

 white hairs. Forehead black, with black hairs on the ante- 

 rior half, a few white hairs on the vertex. Antenna? black ; 

 the pubescence on the first two joints is black above, white 

 below. Beard white. Hind part of head clothed with black 

 bristles. Thorax black, the shoulders and posterior corners 

 bright red ; some fulvous tomentum on the shoulders and 

 sides of thorax ; pubescence black, white hairs on the sides 

 and posterior part. SScutellum black, with black bristles 

 and white hairs. Breast-sides black, with stripes of grey 

 tomentum and some sparse white hairs, those over the hal- 

 teres fulvous. Abdomen iron-grey, with black bands on the 

 segments nearly reaching to the posterior border, not at- 

 taining the sides, with rounded corners ; the pubescence on 

 the bands is black, with a fringe of longer white hairs on the 

 posterior borders of each segment, and some grey tomentum 

 on the sides of abdomen ; viewed from above the abdomen 

 appears black, with narrow bands of white hairs ; the under- 

 side is black, with white pubescence. Legs red ; coxa?, knees, 

 apex of tibia?, and tarsi black ; a faint indication of a black 

 stripe on the underside of the anterior and middle femora ; 

 pubescence on the legs white, longest on the anterior coxa? ; 

 all bristles black. Wings clear; veins brown, those on the 

 fore border and at base red. Halteres red. 



Length 22 millim. 



Type (female), Pretoria ( W. L. I).). 



Alcimus rubiqinosus, Gerst., Decken's Reisen in Ost-Afrik. 

 p. 387 (1873), tab. xvi. fig. 5. 



Two females from Zomba, British Central Africa (P. 

 Rendall) ; two females from Uganda {Ansorge) ; two males 

 from Zomba, British Central Africa (P. Rendall). 



Gerstacker described the female. In the above specimens 

 the thorax varies from dark red-brown with black stripes to 

 fawn-colour with the central stripes a little darker and only 

 the side-stripes black ; the former and Gerstacker's type have 

 probably become denuded of tomentum, leaving the ground- 

 colour (reddish brown) prominent. The only other differences 

 between these females and the description of the type are 

 the following: — The pubescence on the anterior part of the 

 scutellum is white; the last segment of the abdomen is black, 

 shining. The fore femora have black bristles on the under- 

 side, with a few white ones intermixed and have no fringe 

 of long white hairs; there are white bristles on the tarsi of 



