PLATYLABUS ALBO-ORNATUS, sp. nov.

Black; the thorax, except the breasts, red; the face, clypeus, inner orbits narrowly, a narrow line in the middle of the outer, mandibles except the teeth, palpi, the apical half of the fifth and the whole of the sixth and seventh abdominal segments above, white; the four anterior legs whitish in front, for the greater part black behind, the hind legs black, the calcaria white. Antennæ fuscous, the flagellum black above, the scape white below. Wings hyaline, iridescent, the nervures and stigma black.

Length 10 mm.

Natal. Estcourt.

3.

Antennæ short, stout, as long as the abdomen, serrate towards the apex. Face and upper part of clypeus closely punctured, covered with short, white pubescence. Vertex below the ocelli closely, strongly punctured, smooth behind. Thorax closely, strongly punctured; the base of the scutellum only sparsely punctured; the keels on the scutellum are distinct to the apical slope. Areola as long as its width at the apex; the base rounded, the apex not quite transverse; it is stoutly, irregularly striated, depressed round the edges; the basal area almost smooth; the others somewhat strongly punctured, clearly defined; the spiracles almost two and a half times longer than wide. Post-petiole closely, strongly punctured on the sides; the centre raised, less closely punctured; it has the black obscured with red; the second to fourth segments are closely punctured; the gastrocœli oblique, deep. Legs stout, thickly covered with white pubescence. Areolet 4-angled, the nervures uniting in front, the recurrent nervure received in the middle; disco-cubital nervure broken by a stump; the transverse basal nervure interstitial. There is a distinct area on the lower part of the metapleuræ; the upper keel is rounded.

PLATYLABUS MACULISCUTIs, sp. nov.

Black; the abdomen and legs red; the coxæ, trochanters, and narrowed basal part of first abdominal segment, black; the inner eye orbits and a narrow line on the centre of the outer and tubercles, yellow; apex of clypeus rufous; the labrum rufotestaceous; mandibles dark rufous; palpi testaceous; the middle of scutellum red, the apex yellow; post-scutellum red at the base, yellow at the apex. Wings hyaline, the stigma testaceous, black in front, the nervures testaceous. Tegulæ rufo-testaceous. 3. Length 11 mm.

Transvaal.

Antennæ rufous, blackish above, the scape black. Head somewhat strongly punctured, thickly covered with white pubescence, longest on the face. The inner eye orbits are margined in the middle. Thorax closely and strongly punctured. Areola longish, horseshoe-shaped, longer than broad, rounded behind, its apex transverse; it is finely, closely obliquely striated, the striæ converging towards the centre; the sides at the apex are depressed, and not so distinctly striated; the lateral basal area are strongly, closely punctured; the apical transversely striated, the spiracular rugosely reticulated; the metapleuræ more or less obliquely striated. Petiole covered with long white pubescence; the postpetiole closely punctured on the sides; the centre smooth at the base and apex, the middle punctured, strongly but not closely; the other segments closely punctured, pilose; gastrocœli large, the outer side with two stout keels. Areolet 5-angled, the recurrent nervure received near the base of the apical third; transverse basal nervure interstitial; the disco-cubital neither angled nor broken.

PLATYLABUS NIGRIPALPIS, sp. nov.

Black, the apex of the clypeus, the line broadest on the sides, the inner and outer orbits narrowly, a short line on the apex of the pronotum, the base of the keels at the base of the scutellum, the abdomen, except narrowly at the base of petiole, and the legs, except the coxæ and trochanters, black. Antennæ rufous, black above. Wings hyaline, iridescent, the stigma and nervures black. 3.

Length 14 mm.

Natal. Newcastle.

Face closely and strongly, the clypeus sparsely punctured; the front and vertex closely and strongly punctured. Mandibles rufous tinged with yellow, their teeth black. Palpi for the greater part black. Temples short. Occiput transverse. Thorax closely, strongly punctured; the apex of propleuræ strongly striated, narrowly above, more widely below. Scutellum more widely punctured; the apical slope closely striated, slightly tinged with brown. Post-scutellum striated. Median segment somewhat strongly rugosely punctured; the areola longer than wide, roundly narrowed at the base, the apex almost transverse; it is closely, irregularly longitudinally reticulated-striated ; the lateral area are separated; the posterior median area closely, transversely rugose; the lateral area more coarsely rugosely

reticulated; the spiracular coarsely, closely, obliquely striated; the spiracles linear. Post-petiole finely striated in the middle, the sides strongly punctured; the other segments are closely punctured, pilose; the gastrocoli deep, the basal slope closely, regularly striated. Areolet 5-angled, in front one-third of the width behind; the recurrent nervure is received shortly beyond the middle; the transverse median shortly behind the transverse basal. Tarsi spinose.

PLATYLABUS ERYTHROCEPHALUS, sp. nov.

Red, the second, third, and fourth abdominal segments black; the apical half of the fifth and the whole of the sixth and seventh white, the antennæ black, the scape red below, the eighth to fifteenth white; the anterior tibiæ and tarsi testaceous in front; wings hyaline, the stigma and nervures black. f.

Length 9 mm.

Cape Colony. Mossel Bay.

Head closely punctured; the apex of clypeus black, transverse. Base and apex of mandibles black. Palpi fusco-testaceous. Front deeply excavated. Temples short, oblique. Thorax closely punctured; there is a yellow line on the base of the pronotum, a small yellow mark on the apex of the pronotum, and the tubercles are also yellow. Scutellar keels black. Post-petiole punctured at the base, the apex aciculated; the sides stoutly, obliquely striated. Gastrocœli shallow, striated at the base. The second and third segments are closely punctured.

This does not look like a typical Platylabus; the undernoted are the structural characters: Scutellum raised, rounded, stoutly keeled laterally to near the apex. Areola horseshoe-shaped, slightly longer than wide. Last abdominal segment (seventh) large, longer than the penultimate; the ovipositor projecting, as long as the last two segments united. Areolet 5-angled; the disco-cubital nervure broken, transverse basal nervure interstitial. Antennæ ringed with white, the basal joints of the flagellum elongate.

ERISTICUS, Westm.

? ERISTICUS TIBIALIS, sp. nov.

Black; the inner orbits broadly below, narrowly above, a curved mark on the sides of the clypeus, palpi, basal half of mandibles, scutellum, a broad line on the pronotum and tegulæ, yellow; the abdomen red, the greater part of the four anterior coxæ and trochanters yellow, the posterior black, as are also the hind

tibiæ and tarsi. Antennæ black, a small yellow spot on the apex of the scape below. Wings hyaline, the nervures and stigma. black. 3.

Length 11 mm.

Cape.

Face closely and strongly, the clypeus sparsely punctured; the apex of the latter tinged with red. Front and vertex strongly, closely punctured. Labrum dark red in the middle, the sides. yellowish. Mandibles with the basal half yellow, followed by a rufous band, the apex black; their apical tooth long, the subapical short, indistinct. Palpi yellowish. Temples sharply, obliquely narrowed; the occiput transverse. Thorax closely, strongly punctured; the median segment with the pleuræ striated at the apex; the spiracular area closely, strongly obliquely striated. Areola longer than broad, the basal part slightly obliquely narrowed, its apex broadly rounded inwardly; it is irregularly transversely striated on the base, the apex obliquely and longitudinally striated; the posterior median area wide, stoutly transversely striated, the striæ widely separated; the spiracular area more closely, less strongly obliquely striated. Middle area of post-petiole bordered by keels; it is closely, strongly striated; the sides strongly punctured. Gastrocœli transverse, the inner side and the space between them closely, stoutly striated. The segments are closely punctured; the apex of the penultimate has a semicircular pale yellow mark; the last is entirely pale yellow. Areolet 5-angled, its width in front one-fourth of what it is behind; the recurrent nervure is received almost in the middle; disco-cubital nervure broken by a stump; the transverse median received distinctly beyond the transverse basal. Scutellum flat.

E. iridipennis, Cam. (Rec. Alb. Mus., i., 142), has the wings. fuscous violaceous, the scutellums black, the basal three segments only of the abdomen are red, &c.