X I .— N OTES ON ORIENTAI, DIPTERA. 



v.— DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SPECIES OF PSY- 

 CHODID OF THE GENUS PHLEBOTOMUS. 



By N. Annandai,e, D.Sc, Superintendent, Indian Museum. 



Several records {opp. post, cit.) of the existence in India of 

 blood-sucking flies of the family Psychodidse have been published, 

 but no species from the Oriental region appears as yet to have been 

 described specifically. I have therefore thought it worth while 

 to publish a description of the form most common in Calcutta, 

 and have drawn up, in consultation with Mr. Brunetti, a diagnosis 

 sufficiently detailed to ensure recognition of the species, adding 

 certain notes on the scales and bristles. 



Phlebotonius argentipes, Annandale and Brunetti, sp. nov. 



rf ? . Calcutta. Long. i"5 mm. 



Head (including mouth-parts), dorsum of thorax, abdomen 

 blackish' or brown, the abdomen paler than the head jmd dorsum 

 of the thorax ; antennae dark grey owing to the presence of 

 long, flattened hairs and bearing spatulate scales on the two basal 

 joints and on the proximal half of the first joint of the flagellum. 

 First (basal) joint of the antenna conical, truncate distally ; second 

 joint sub-spherical, bearing a circle of about twelve slender, spatu- 

 late, curved scales and, nearer the base, a circle of alternating flat- 

 tened bristles ; first joint of the flagellum about four times as long 

 as the preceding joint {i.e., distal joint of the scape) and twice as 

 long as the first of the remaining thirteen joints of the flagellum, the 

 length of which gradually diminishes towards the tip of the antenna. 

 Head small, eyes large, black, separated narrowly on the dorsal 

 surface ; rostrum stout, sausage-shaped ; proboscis equally devel- 

 oped in the two sexes ; the rostrum bearing several groups of upright 

 curved bristles. Thorax tumid above, with a middorsal sulcation 

 anteriorly, the dorsum bearing bunches of long, blackish, more or 

 less erect, curved, flattened bristles, which are similar to those on 

 the rostrum, but stouter, and arise from sockets provided with raised 

 rims; these bristles exhibiting silvery reflections in certain lights. 

 Pleurae and sternum cream-coloured, devoid of bristles except at 

 the base of the legs. Abdomen slender in both sexes, covered with 

 long scattered, blackish bristles like those on the thorax but finer. 



I The exact tint of the darker part varies considerably. It is possible that 

 individiials occur in which the head, thorax and abdomen are uniformly pale. 



