PHYTOMIA. / o 



A female from the E. side of edge of foot of Aberdare Mountains, 

 7,300ft, British East Africa, 24. ii. 1911 (T. J. Anderson), and 

 another from Mt. Kenia, W. side, Meru-Xyeri lload, 6,500 ft., 

 20. ii. 1911 (S. A. Neave). 



Other specimens belong to a variety which I call 



Var. melas, var. n. 



Distinguished by the entirely black abdomen, and agreeing with 

 the type in other respects. 



Type $ , an additional specimen, and another female from same 

 localities and collectors as the typical series. 



72. Phytomia ephippium, Bezzi. 



Very like the melas variety of front o, but distinguished by 

 the peculiar conformation of the second abdominal segment. 

 Already diagnosed by me in Ann. Mus. Civ. Geneva, (3) v. 1912, 

 p. 424.' 



1 introduce this form as a new species with considerable hesita- 

 tion, because it may w r ell be that the type is merely an aberrant 

 variety of front o ; but the singular conformation of the second 

 abdominal segment appears to be so regular that it may be 

 normal. 



Head as in front o ; the Ions: and dense frontal hairs are mostly 

 black ; the eyes seem to have four transverse dark bands as in the 

 preceding species ; the frontal wrinkled area is bkck, as is the 

 whole of the face. Thorax and scutellum also black, but the scu- 

 tellum is more yellowish along the hind border, and the hairs on 

 its base are bkck. First abdominal segment normal ; second con- 

 sisting of two transverse ovate lappets, the inner extremities of 

 which nearly meet in the middle line, and each of which shows 

 posteriorly a broad depression followed by a flattened margin. It 

 looks as though there w r ere two segments abnormally fused together ; 

 the number of the abdominal segments is, however, normal. All 

 other details as \\\ front o melas. 



Type $ , a single specimen from British East Africa, 5 miles 

 inside Kenia Forest, near Luchi River, 9. ii. 1911 (T. J. Anderson). 



73. Phytomia (Simoides) villipes, Loew (1358). 



Very like fronto, but easily distinguished by its shortened hind 

 tarsi and narrower face, which is yellowish with a black median 

 stripe. 



This species, the type of which was collected in Nubia, was 

 described by Loew as belonging to the genus Simoides ; the male, 

 however, is as yet unknown. I place it in Phytomia on account 

 of the very broad frons of the female, which is very like that of 

 fronto and allied species, and on account of the wings showing no 

 trace of the apical pubescence so characteristic of the typical species 

 of Simoides. 



