24 iMi. T. D. A. Cockcrcll — Dcscriplions and 



Meroghssa denttcauda, sp. n. 



^ . — Length about 11 mm. ; expanse 17^. 

 Head and tliorax black, with bright chrome-yellow marks; 

 abdomen piceous, with a broad suffused rod band on first 

 segment and a red suffusion at bases of second and third and 

 an oblong pale yellow mark on each side of second ; face 

 narrow, inner orbital margins witli a strong double curve ; 

 front densely and coarsely punctured ; face below antennae 

 all deep chrome-yellow, except an elongate cuneiform brown 

 mark on each side of clypeus, very narrow lower edge of 

 clypeus, and a narrow black border round supraclypeal mark; 

 supraclypeal mark extending upwards as a band to middle 

 ocellus ; lateral marks extending upwards as bands along 

 orbits, gradually narrowing to a point at level of lateral 

 ocelli ; malar space black; posterior orbits bounded by a 

 yellow band, failing below; labrum and mandibles each with 

 a yellow spot ; scape slender, yellow in front and reddish 

 behind ; flagellum dark above, dull yellowish beneath, except 

 the fourth antennal joint, which is dark; mesothorax very 

 densely, strongly, and coarsely punctured, reddish black, with 

 a pair of very narrow dull yellow lines, not reaching anterior 

 or posterior margins, and a slight yellow mark on each side 

 above tegulai ; upper border of prothorax, tubercles, band 

 (dull) on pleura extending downwards from tubercles, scutel- 

 lum (except a median brown line), and postscutellum all 

 yellow ; area of metathorax strongly fluted and with a yellowish 

 mark on eacli side; femora dark reddish, the middle pair 

 quite bright red behind ; tibise and tarsi yellow, suffused with 

 reddish ; hind tibia? with the basal two-fii'ths canary-yellow 

 and the rest light ferruginous; tegul^e subhyaline, with a 

 yellow spot. "Wings strongly orange-tinted, stigma and 

 nervures amber-colour; b. n. falling barely short of t.-ni. ; 

 first r. n. eiitering apical corner of first s.m. ; second r. n. 

 reaching second s.m. a short distance before the apex ; second 

 s.m. about as broad above as below; abdomen finely punctured ; 

 apex with two triangular teeth, forming a W margin, and 

 laterally with well-developed dark cerci, minutely hairy at 

 end. The tongue of the unique type male has not been 

 extracted, but the insect is evidently a Meroglossa related to 

 ^]. melanura (Ckll.). 



? . — Similar to the male, but differing as follows : — Face 

 equally narrow, but the markings reduced to three narrow 

 stripes, extending its whole length from the level of the 

 anterior ocellus ; labrum and mandibles not light-spotted ; 

 scape ferruginous ; thoracic markings the same, but stripe 



