82 E. Brunetti : Notes on Oriental Syrphidee. [Voi,. it, 



slightest possible trace of a dark diffusion towards tip. Halteres : 

 stems yellow, knob red-brown. 



Described from a perfect cf in excellent condition in the Indian 

 Museum collection from Sikkim. A ver3^ conspicuous species. 



N.B. — This may be the cf of Walker's M. lamus, described 

 from an unknown locality. The description of the abdomen agrees 

 very well, but my specimen has no frontal stripe from the an- 

 tennae to the mouth. The markings on the sides of the thorax 

 do not quite agree ; my species has no distinct black spots on the 

 belly, nor does Walker, in spite of his minute description of the 

 feet, mention the conspicuous streaks on the under side of the femora, 

 which are present in variegata. The black band across the vertex, 

 with a second stripe extending to the antennae would probably be a 

 sexual character. The black posterior border of the 3rd segment 

 extends to the base of the 4th, therefore there is less difference 

 between Walker's " fore border " of 4th segment, and my " posterior 

 border of 3rd," than would at first appear. 



M. himalayensiSt mihi, sp. nov. 

 {Sphyxea himalayensis, Bigot, iioin. mid.) 

 & $ . Assam and North India. Long. : & , 20 mm. ; 9 , 17 mm. 



Head : & : vertex shining black, a vQxy small grey-haired tri- 

 angle just above the junction of the eyes. Frons and face blackish 

 grey, shining, with silvery reflections, seen from above ; frontal 

 prominence, dark brown (antennse missing). Back of head grey, 

 posterior orbit of eyes with a little short greyish hair. 



$ : frons yellowish grey ; a broad shining bare black stripe 

 (occupying nearly the whole width of the frontal space) extends 

 from the vertex to the frontal prominence. Lower part of face and 

 cheeks shining black, nearly bare, without whitish reflections, but 

 with traces of a greyish stripe on cheeks. Antennse tawny. 



Thorax : ground colour blackish, covered with close ferrugin- 

 ous 1)rown hair ( cf ) ; or greenish yellow tomentose, with greenish 

 yelk)w hair ( 5 ). Humeral calH concolorous in cf , yellow, with 

 yellowish hair in 9 , with a small, oval, yellow spot below them. 

 Sides of thorax, dark grey, with consideral3le brownish, rough hair 

 incf; barer in 2 with a little sparse grey hair, and a stripe below 

 wing-insertions, extending to the scutellum, which is light brown 

 in cf and yellow in 2 , in both sexes with yellow hair. 



Abdomen in cf dark brown; in 2 shining metallic blue; in 

 both sexes, with a broad bright lemon-yellow band at the base of 

 the 2nd segment, occupying more than half of it, A very narrow 

 yellow band near the base of the 3rd segment in 2 . 



The dorsum is covered in the cf with yellow hair mixed with 

 black, but wholly yellow on the cross-band. That on the sides of 

 the abdomen is brown, except towards the base, where it is longest, 

 and is yeUow and silky. In the 2 the dorsum is clothed with 

 yellow hair on the cross-band, and minute black hair elsewhere, 



