﻿SOLOMON ISLANDS TRIPTEROIDES — BELKIN 241 



number of narrow, white scales on central portion of anterior promon- 

 tory, and a few clingy white scales along the margin of the prescutellar 

 "bare space."' Dorsocentral and acrostichal bristles absent; three 

 pairs of prescutellars; usual bristles on anterior promontory and 

 supraalar areas; all bristles very dark. Scutcllum light brown, cov- 

 ered with broad, appressed, iridescent, dark scales. Postnotum very 

 dark, with gray pollinose lines; bristles and hairs absent. Pleural 

 integument black with dense covering of broad, appressed, white scales ; 

 pronotal lobes entirely white-scaled; posterior pronotum with broad 

 white scales below and narrower, smaller dark scales above ; remainder 

 of pleura densely covered with pure white scales except for bare upper 

 part of propleuron, lower anterior part of sternopleuron, posterior part 

 of mesepimeron, meron, and metameron. Pleural bristles: anterior 

 pronotals eight or nine dark bristles; no posterior pronotal; two 

 spiraculars ; three propleurals ; a number of weak, light-colored lower 

 sternopleurals ; no upper sternopleurals ; four or five prealars ; a group 

 of light upper mesepimerals. Halteres yellow-brown and bare at base 

 and lower part of stem, upper part of stem and knob bronzy-scaled. 



Wings : Scales all dark. Outstanding wing scales long and narrow 

 on all veins dorsally. Base of upper fork cell closer to base of wing 

 than that of lower fork cell. Fringe dark. Squama fringed. 



Legs: All dark except as follows. Coxae and trochanters mostly 

 white-scaled, integument light. Front and middle femora narrowly 

 white-scaled on lower surface ; front and middle tibiae with some pale 

 scales ventrally. Hind femora and tibiae more extensively white- 

 scaled ventrally. All tarsi dark. Hind tibia and base of first hind 

 tarsus with specialized hairs. Enlarged claws of front and middle 

 legs with a slender tooth on basal half. 



Abdomen : Dark, iridescent, purplish blue with white lateral spots. 

 First tergite completely scaled, dark centrally, white on lateral lobes. 

 Second tergite with a large, white lateral spot extending from base to 

 apex. Tergites 3 to 7 with triangular lateral white spots produced 

 m.esad on apex of segments, but not meeting on midline. Sternites 2 

 to 7 white-scaled, 1 bare. 



Genitalia (figs. 33, /, ^ ; 34, &) . Sidepiece (fig. 34, h) conical, densely 

 covered with scales laterally and ventrally ; dorsal surface with bristles 

 only, bristles present on basal portion; basal lobe poorly developed, 

 with four to six large bristles, one of these being considerably thicker 

 and longer than the others, numerous smaller bristles and hairs; 

 clasper long, slender, apical third to half with a few small, slender 

 hairs arising from dorsal, lateral and ventral surfaces, a short elongate 

 ovoid terminal spine. Mesosome (fig. 34, h) simple, broad; composed 

 of two lateral plates, each with an apical ventral spur and two dorsal 

 projections. Tenth sternite (fig. 33, i) ending in several teeth, usually 



