THE GROUP OF MILIAEIS. 1L5 



says, " Am Mittelleib nur der Halskragen gelb." The 

 only British species with which it agrees in general 

 coloration is N. leucogaster, but that species may be 

 known from it by its shorter, thicker antennae, punc- 

 tured head, black metapleurae, base of coxae, and 

 fuscous stigma. 



XIII. THE GKOUP OF MILIARIS. 



Colour green, turning to straw-yellow when old, or 

 pallid yellow throughout. The vertex is more or less 

 marked with black, the mesonotum usually bears three 

 or more black marks, or may more rarely be entirely 

 black, as is usually the case with the metanotum. The 

 dorsum of abdomen is always marked with black trans- 

 verse lines at the base, or it may be entirely marked 

 with black. In only one species (maculiger) is the 

 underside marked with black. Antennce as long, or it 

 may be shorter, than the body, thin, usually black above, 

 pale beneath ; the third joint as long or shorter than the 

 fourth. Clypeus slightly incised. Cerci usually as 

 long as the spurs ; daws bifid. Stigma green or pallid 

 yellow. The saws are slenderly built, short, the inden- 

 tations rounded and with very minute teeth, only dis- 

 cernible with a high power. 



The males are entirely black above, and the pleurae 

 and sternum are also marked with black. The antennas 

 are usually shorter and thicker than in the ? ; stigma 

 fuscous or griseous. 



The species in this group are very difficult to 

 separate, and with one or two of them it is almost 

 impossible to do so with the perfect insects. With 

 these, in fact, the only safe mode of discriminating 

 them is to rear them from the larvae. 



The synonymy of the authors prior to Thomson is 

 very difficult to elucidate owing to their descriptions 



