362 F- W. EDWAEDS. 



Eretmopodites dracaenae, sp. n. 



(J $. Head clothed with metaUic silvery-blue scales, a small patch of upright forked 

 scales on the nape which are mostly yellow, a few towards the front being black. 

 Proboscis and palpi black-scaled. Thorax with yellow integument ; prothoracic 

 lobes clothed with bluish- silvery scales. Scutum clothed with narrow orange and 

 black scales, the black ones arranged as follows : a few on the area behind the pro- 

 thoracic lobes ; a pair of stripes commencing at the base of the wing and extending 

 half-way from there to the front margin ; a second pair internal to these and extending 

 from the scutellum almost to the front margin, widening out a little in front of shorter 

 outer stripes, without quite coming into contact with these ; an ill-defined median 

 black stripe on the anterior half of the scutum, divided into two by a double row of 

 orange scales which lie immediately on each side of the middle line. Lateral lobes of 

 scutellum clothed with narrow scales, outwardly orange and inwardly black ; median 

 lobe clothed with flat scales, chiefly bluish-silvery, though those round the border are 

 black. A stripe of bluish- silvery scales extending across the pleurae from the pro- 

 thoracic lobes on to the first abdominal segment ; a small patch of silvery scales at 

 the base of each coxa. Postnotum with two or three small dark bristles (perhaps not 

 constant). Abdomen : dorsum black, each of segments ii.-vii. with the usual oblique 

 lateral purplish-silvery marks ; in this species those on segments vi. and vii. unite above 

 to form complete transverse bands ; eighth segment black-scaled. Venter clothed 

 with golden scales, the scales on the apical margin of the last three segments long and 

 black. Male genitalia : side-pieces small, with a single long bristle on the dorso- 

 lateral surface ; basally there is a thick downwardly-projecting lobe bearing a patch 

 of erect scales ; claspers long, thin, curved, with some dark-coloured hairs and scales. 

 Legs black-scaled, except the under sides of the femora towards the base, which are 

 yellow. Claws of the four anterior legs in the rdale unequal, simple ; in the female 

 equal, toothed. Hind tibiae distinctly shorter than the others. Wings clothed with 

 dark brown scales, those in the lateral series lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate. Base of 

 upper fork-ceU nearer base of wing than that of the lower. Halteres with yellow stem 

 and dark knob. 



Length 4-5 mm. 



Sierra Leone : Freetown (A. W. Bacot). 



A series was bred by Mr. Bacot from pupae found in water collected at the bases of 

 the leaves of the " Cocked Hat " plant {Dracaena sp.) ; specimens were also obtained, 

 though less frequently, from leaf bases of the " Koko Yam " {Colocasia antiquorum), 

 and also of the banana and a species of Sarsaparella. 



Type cJ and other specimens presented to the British Museum by the West 

 African Yellow Fever Commission. 



This species is allied to E. quinquevittatus, but differs therefrom markedly in the 

 structure of the genitalia, and also in the foUowing points : the scales of the head 

 have a more pronounced blue tint ; the thoracic stripes are less clearly marked, while 

 the double row of orange scales dividing the median black stripe is absent in E. quin- 

 quevittatus, and in that species the silvery marks on the sixth abdominal segment do 

 not meet above. 



