22 INSECUTOR INSCITI^ M^NSTRUUS 



the type of which has been returned to the Agricultural Experi- 

 ment Station at Taihoku. 



Blepharocera shirakii, new species. 



General coloration black, the mouthparts and base of antenna 

 pale ; wings subhyaline, iridescent ; veins dark brown. 



Male.-. — Length, 6.3 mm. ; wing, 7.8 mm. 



Mouthparts reddish; palpi pale brown. Antennae with the 

 scape and base of the first flagellar segment nearly glabrous, 

 obscure yellow ; remainder of the flagellum dark brown, densely 

 pubescent. Head black, the ocelli conspicuously light yellow ; 

 eyes hairy. 



Mesonotum dull black without distinct pale markings other 

 than a faint reddish tinge between the usual median and lateral 

 praescutal stripes. Pleura dark, obscure yellow beneath the 

 wing-root. Halteres yellow, the knobs brown. Legs with the 

 fore coxse dark, the remaining coxa obscure yellow ; trochanters 

 yellow ; remainder of the legs brown, the femoral bases obscure 

 yellow. Wings subhyaline, iridescent; veins dark brown. 

 Venation as in the genus ; a small chitinized knot in the anal 

 angle of the wing. 



Abdominal tergites dark brownish black, the sternites much 

 paler, especially at the base of each segment. Hypopygium 

 black. 



Habitat. — Japan (Honshu). 



Holotype, male, Tokumoto, Province of Shinano, July 12, 

 1918 (T. Shiraki). 



This interesting net- winged midge is named in honor of the 

 collector, Dr. T. Shiraki, to whom I am indebted for many 

 favors. 



Blepharocera shirakii is the second species of net-winged 

 midge to be described from Japan. The Liponeura infiiscata 

 Matsumura (Thousand Insects of Japan, Additamenta 2, pp. 

 443, 444, PL 24, fig. 7, 1916) is a very different species whose 

 true generic position is very doubtful. The only regional 

 Blepharocera is B. indica Brunetti (Records Indian Museum, 

 vol. 4, p. 316, 1911) from the Simla district of Northern India. 



