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ON THE ORIENTAL CULICID GENUS LEICESTEKIA, 



THEOBALD. 



By F. W. Edwards, B.A., F.E.S. 



(Published by permission of the Trustees of the British, Museum.) 



The genus Leicesteryx was founded by Theobald in 1904 (Entomologist, xxxvii, 

 p. 211) for a species* of mosquito found by Dr. Gr. F. Leicester in the Malay 

 States, the most remarkable character of which was the great length of the 

 female palpi, a condition known otherwise among the Culicidae only in 

 Anopheles, Megarhinus and Mucidus, all genera to which the new species was 

 obviously unrelated. Subsequently Dr. Leicester* placed on record his discovery 

 of four other species essentially similar to Theobald's Leicesteria longipalpis ; 

 for one of these he created the new genus Chaetomyia. Additional species 

 referable to the genus have since been described by Theobald. f 



The present contribution is based mainly on an examination of Dr. Leicester's 

 fine collection, which he has recently presented to the British Museum ; a study 

 of this has revealed the existence of three undescribed species, descriptions of 

 which are herewith presented. Through the courtesy of Dr. N. Annandale and 

 Mr. F. H. Gravely of the Indian Museum I have also been enabled to 

 make a detailed examination of the types of Leicesteria apicalis, Theo., and 

 Brevirhynchus apicalis, Theo. ; I am therefore in a position to offer a thorough 

 revision of the species of this interesting genus. The very clear drawings of 

 male genitalia have been made for me by my wife from balsam preparations. It 

 should be noted that the basal parts are represented as transparent in order to 

 show the unci. 



Characters and systematic position of the genus. 



Adult characters. — Eyes very narrowly separated. Proboscis thick, shorter 

 than the abdomen, very slightly swollen at the apex. Male antennae plumose. 

 Palpi of female at least half as long as the proboscis, three-jointed, the elongation 

 occurring mainly in the second joint, terminal joint minute ; palpi of male longer 

 than the proboscis by the last joint, thin, without hair-tufts, the last two joints 

 curved upwards. Prothoracic lobes well separated, and more or less retracted 

 under the mesonotum which is arched forwards over the head. Scutellum 

 obviously trilobed. Postnotum+ without setae (except in L. /lava). Front 



* Studies from Inst, for Med. Research, Fed. Malay States, iii, pt. 3, pp. 94-100 (1908). 

 f Rec. Ind. Mus. ii, 1908, pp. 291-294 



J Following Dyar and Knab, the writer replaces the term " metanotum " by " postnotum," 

 since the structure indicated is really part of the mesothorax and not of the metathorax. 



(32926—2.) VVt. P 12—42. 1000. 2/14. D & S. A 



