236 
SOUTH AFEICA 
small Bee Prosopis sandaracata , Bingh., with black and yellow thorax 
and red abdomen, was abundant, as was also the prettily marked 
P. h-lineata , Cameron; but of Prosopis simplex, Bingh., sp. nov., un¬ 
fortunately only a unique example was secured; 1 there was also a 
Sawfly, Athalia himantopus, a female. 
In addition there were on the same flowers a Fly of the genus 
Catabomba, three of the genus Idia, and another fly ; the latter was 
found to be held in the clutches of a green Spider with red-brown 
markings, which, owing to its coloration, was practicably invisible 
among the crowded flowers, and would never have been detected 
but for its prey. But this does not exhaust the list, which includes 
the small Longicorn Syessita vestigialis, Pascoe, and a number of 
small Cetoniids. The most abundant of these was the little Oxy- 
thyrea marginalis; I noticed at the time that this beetle was 
rendered strangely inconspicuous by the creamy white specks on 
thorax and elytra breaking up the dark ground-colour and simulating 
the general look of the anthers of the flower. Another small Cetoniid, 
String ophor us flavipennis, Gory & P., occurred on the same flowers 
and its elytra bear similar spots. Together with these were two 
specimens of a third and still smaller Cetoniid, Comythovalgus 
fasciculatus, Schonh., which were quite difficult to distinguish, but in 
this species the means of concealment are different, for the thorax 
and elytra bear numerous conical, horny projections, while there are 
two conical tufts of scales near the apex of the abdomen. 2 
Two specimens of Gegenes letterstedti were the only Hesperids 
noted; this species settles with the fore-wings raised, the hind-wings 
nearly horizontal, like several of our English Skippers. 
The following Moths were taken, but doubtless the list might 
easily have been lengthened, especially if we had worked at night; 
Macroglossa trochilus, at flowers in the late afternoon; Syntomis 
kuhlweini, Lefebre; the day-flying Lymantriids Lobelia punctulata , 
Butl., and Aroa discalis , Walk., males of the latter species being very 
common on the outskirts of the Park; the Geometers Zerenopsis 
leopardina, Feld., fluttering near the ground; Graspedia internata, 
Guen. ( strigulifera , Walk.), and the variable Semiothisa brongusaria ; 
we also kicked up a Pyrale, Pyrausta incoloralis , Guen., and two 
specimens of the Boarmiid Obolcola ineonclusaria , Walk., one of 
each sex. 
As usual the most obvious representatives of the Hymenoptera 
were the handsome Carpenter-bees, Xylocopa caffra , £; X. fraterna, 
1 See footnote, p. 182, supra. 
2 See Longstaff, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond 1906, pp. 91-93. 
