290 BOAIBTLIIDiE. 



bare species. Head as broad as or broader than thorax ; eyes 

 reaching from top to bottom of the head, closely contiguous in 

 both sexes ; facets very small, of uniform size ; vertex reduced 

 almost to a point ; three ocelli ; frons and face forming an isosceles 

 triangle, slightly prominent at base of antennae, entirely bare ; 

 antennas very long, 1st joint very long, cylindrical, 2nd less than 

 half as long, cylindrical, 3rd joint flattened, style absent; pro- 

 boscis very long and thin, porrect, the bifid tip curled backwards ; 

 jmlpi thin, short, concealed within or but slightly projecting 

 from mouth-opening. Thorax a little longer than broad, with 

 rounded corners, dorsum slightly arched, lower part of metathorax 

 enormously developed, the hind coxae set at its lowest point; 

 scutellum broad, very short. Abdomen, except the triangular 

 basal part of 1st segment, very attenuated, about one-fourth as 

 wide as and three or four times as long as thorax ; 8-segmented, 

 tip more or less clubbed; genitalia small. Anterior legs com- 

 paratively short and thin, hind legs long and thin, stretching 

 considerably beyond tip of abdomen ; the femora, tibia?, and tarsi 

 of about equal length ; metatarsus as long as rest of tarsus ; 

 pulvilli small ; legs bare, except for some moderate-sized bristles 

 on hind tibia?. Wings long and narrow, cuneiform at base ; 

 alula? entirely absent; auxiliary and 1st longitudinal veins very 

 long, closely approximated ; praefurca very short ; 3rd vein 

 widely forked near tip of wing ; two, rarely three, submarginal 

 cells, and only three posterior cells ; discal cell present, anterior 

 cross-vein just beyond its middle ; anal cell closed at some 

 ■distance from margin of wing ; anal vein long, straight, reaching 

 wing- margin. 



Range. Africa, Asia, North and South America. 

 Life-history. Westwood (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1876, p. 571) de- 

 scribes the cocoons of a moth and the pupa of an African species 

 of Systropus (S. crudelis, Westw.), found on a accacia-tree in 

 Natal. The cocoon is oval, slightly flattened on the side attached 

 to the tree, seven lines long, the outer surface smooth, and at 

 one end is a circular piece which is easily removed, allowing the 

 perfect insect to escape. The cocoons were probablv of an 

 "Egger" moth,"* and inside each was a well-formed Systropus 

 pupa possessing a strong frontal projection (apparently for the 

 purpose of forcing off the lid of the cocoon). The head bears a 

 long appendage below (probably the antennae and proboscis). 

 The abdomen is robust, convex, bearing a transverse row of 

 spines on each segment, which doubtless also assists its escape 

 from the cocoon. In one of the specimens the imago was seen 

 in the act of escaping from its pupa skin, and Westwood notes 

 that the mouth-parts during emergence consisted of four delicate 

 lancet-like pieces. These doubtless united subsequently to form 

 the proboscis. Westwood (Plate x) gives several figures of the 

 pupa and perfect insect. 



* [More probably a Liruacodicl of the genus Parasa. — Ed.] 



