STRATIOMYiDJt. 



Lemjtli, 15 mm. 



Described from Pulo Penang ; in "Westermann's collection, 

 Vienna Museum. 



49. Ptecticas aurifer, Wall: 



Sargus aurifer, Walker, List Dipt. Brit. Mus. v, p. 96 (1854). 

 Ptecticus aurifer, Brunetti, Rec. Ind. Mus. i, p. 110 (1907). 



3 2 ' Head with eyes in <$ with their point of nearest approach 

 distinctly below halfway between vertex and base of antennae, 

 the space between them perhaps ^ to \ of a millimetre ; thence 

 upwards frons widening gradually till at vertex it is almost 1 milli- 

 metre broad ; bright orange with orange pubescence ; frontal 

 triangle elevated, shining, smooth, lemon-yellow, bare, except for 

 a smull tuft of orange hairs just above base of antennas ; face very 

 small, yellowish, as are the very narrow inner lower eye-margins 

 near the very large mouth-opening ; occiput black, upper margin 

 with yellow pubescence ; ocelli yellow on a black ocellar triangle ; 

 proboscis and the very large labella orange-yellow, with a few 

 hairs. Antenna? orange, tip of upper side with a black mark, 

 arista black, orange at base. Frons in $ at narrowest part dis- 

 tinctly broader than in c? , so that it is only about two and a half 

 times broader at vertex than at frontal triangle. Thorax : sides, 

 scutellum, and metanotum bright orange, all with a little very 

 short yellow or orange pubescence, which is a little longer on the 

 sternopleura, metapleura, and metanotum ; dorsum sometimes with 

 a little more brown in it and sometimes, especially in the $ , 

 traces of three longitudinal brownish stripes can be seen. Ab- 

 domen normally with first four segments bright orange, remainder 

 (including genitalia) black, but the orange segmentsof ten have more 

 or less brown in them, sometimes in the form of large transverse 

 spots occupying neaily all the segments; sometimes the whole 

 dorsum is uniformly more brownish ; the first four segments with 

 very short inconspicuous golden-yellow pubescence, the rest with 

 almost microscopic greyish pubescence. Yenter mainly orange on 

 first four segments, remainder black, but 4th, and sometimes 3rd 

 also, often bear large blackish patches. Legs all orange, with short 

 yellow pubescence ; last two joints of anterior tarsi brown ; about 

 apical halt' of hind tibiae brown ; hind tarsi blackish brown, 

 especially first two joints, underside with rich golden-brown 

 pubescence. Wings with basal half up to just beyond discal cell 

 bright orange-yellow, remainder moderately dark brown ; veins a 

 little deeper orange, veinlets from discal cell dark brown, 3rd only 

 moderately sinuous ; halteres orange. 



Lemjtli , 1 2-20 m m . 



Described from a series in the Indian Museum, Sarawak 

 Museum, and Pusa collections: Mussoorie, 6500 ft. (Bond}; 

 Darjiling, 1000-3000 ft., v-vi. 1912 ; Peshoke Spur, Darjiling 



