308 THEREVIDiE. 



half as long as the 1st, flattened, dull blackish red, practically 

 bare, elongate leaf-shaped, not quite straight nor yet with quite 

 pai'allel sides, bearing a minute black apical style-like tip. 

 Thorax shining black, with a broad whitish-grey median stripe 

 from anterior to hind margin, often with a narrow whiter line 

 along its middle; transverse suture well marked at each end; 

 whole dorsum covered, though not thickly, Avith minute whitish- 

 grey pubescence ; humeri bare, shining ; pleura? and underside of 

 thorax with greyish microscopic pubescence, with a few sparse 

 longer hairs here and there. Scutellum reddish brown, base 

 more or less black, sometimes wholly black, with two long black 

 bristles on hind margin. Abdomen shining black, hind margins 

 of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th segments narrowly brownish, yellowish, or 

 even white, the colour always distinctly broader on 2nd segment; 

 sometimes hind margin of 1st segment also faintly or distinctly 

 pale ; dorsum covered with minute, rather sparse, whitish pubes- 

 cence, which is distinctly longer on the sides and venter, which 

 latter is generally a replica of the upper side and occasionally 

 has the hind margins of the 5th and 6th segments also pale ; some 

 longer white hairs towards each side of 1st segment. Genitalia 

 in S rather large, black or dark brown ; in § on ly the slightly 

 protruding small terminal lamella? are visible. Legs: coxa? 

 brownish yellow or orange, posterior pairs slightly blackish grey at 

 base, all with minute whitish pubescence and a few longer whitish 

 hairs in front and near tip ; femora uniformly brownish yellow or 

 orange ; tibia? and tarsi normally black, but middle pair often 

 and hind pair sometimes more or less dirty brownish yellow ; 

 tarsi blackish, metatarsus more or less dull yellowish at base ; all 

 the legs with microscopic grey pubescence. Wings pale grey,, 

 highly iridescent ; veins black or dark brown, occasionally those 

 near distal end of wing slightly suffused, or the whole wing-tip 

 may be slightly infuscated ; halteres wholly yellowish or with a 

 black mark on upper side of knobs. 



Length, 6-7 mm. 



Described from a number of specimens in good and fair con- 

 dition in the Indian Museum and Pusa collections : Almora, 

 Kumaon Distr., 5500 ft., 14. v.-lO. vi. 1911 (Paiva) • Dum Dura, 

 W. Himalayas, xii.1906; Baroda, 10. iv. 1909, larva in rubbish 

 in fowl-house; Bombay Presid. fnom. illeg.), 19. iii. 1905: Chapra, 

 Bengal, common ; Malda, E. Bengal, 22. iii. 1911 (Fletcher) ; 

 Whatgoclam, 23. ix. 1915. 



Types in Berlin Museum and Wiedemann's collection. 



P. brimneus var. brunnipes Brim. 



P. brimneus var. brunnipes, Brunetti, Hec. Ind. Mus. vii ; p. 480' 

 (1912). 



This variety is distinguished by a broad brown ring on the 

 posterior femora leaving only the base and tip pale ; front femora 

 brownish yellow. Scutellum wholly black, with a little greyish 



