MEGAEHINUS POETORICENSIS 959 



Megarhina portoricensis Giles (in part), Handb. Gnats or Mosq., 2 ed., 275, 1902. 



Megarhinus portoricensis Blanchard (in part), Les Moust, 224, 1905. 



Megarhinus portoricensis Coquillett (in part), U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Ent, Tech. 



Ser. 11, 14, 1906. 

 Megarhinus portoricensis Dyar & Knab, Smiths. Misc. Colls., quart, iss., xlviii, 247, 



1906. 

 Megarhinus haitiensis Dyar & Knab, Smiths. Misc. Colls., quart, iss., xlviii, 248, 253, 



1906. 

 Megarhinus portoricensis Theobald, Mon. Culic, iv, 129, 1907. 

 Megarhinus portoricensis Pazos, San. y Benef., ii, 46, 186, 1909. 

 Megarhinus portoricensis Theobald (in part), Mon. Culic, v, 93, 1910. 

 Megarhinus haitiensis Theobald, Mon. Culic, v, 602, 1910. 



Original Description of Megarrhina portoricensis: 



Thorace badio viridi-aureo squamulato, abdomine pedibus palpisque chalybeis; 

 tarsorum posticorum articulo paenultimo argenteo. 



Patria: Insula Portorico. (Long. 8 mm c?.) 



Fiihler braunlich; Taster stahlblau, in das Veilchenblaue iibergehend. Riissel 

 lang, stahlblau. Kopf am hinteren Augenrande und vorn um das erste Fiihlerglied 

 weiss schimmernd. Thorax dunkelbraun, mit griingoldenen Schuppen (die aber 

 bei dem mir vorliegenden Exemplar theilweise abgerieben sind). An den Brust- 

 seiten befinden sich iiber den Hiiften silberweiss behaarte Flecke. Schildchen mit 

 griingoldenen Schuppen. Hinterleib schon stahlblau, an den aussersten Seiten- 

 randern weisslich schimmernd. Beine stahlblau, die Hiiften silberweiss beschuppt; 

 die Schenkel an der Unterseite goldgelb beschuppt; das vorletzte Fussglied an den 

 Hintertarsen ist silberweiss beschuppt. Adern der Fliigel am Vorderrande mehr 

 dunkel gesaumt, gegen den Hinterrand heller. Schwinger hell. 



Original Description of Megarhinus haitiensis: 



Female. Head above pearly blue, at the sides and beneath silvery. Antennae: 

 second segment twice as long as the third, hardly stouter, swollen basally, a crest 

 of scales on the basal half. Palpi deep blue and violet with a few silvery scales, 

 segments pale at the apex. Fourth segment cylindrical, slightly shorter than the 

 second; third longest, nearly twice as long as the fourth. Prothoracic lobes bright 

 blue. Mesothorax very dark blue on the disc, a median lighter blue stripe bounded 

 at the sides by a patch of dull brown scales, the sides pale bluish. Scutellum, roots 

 of the wings, and first abdominal segment silvery blue and green-scaled. Pleurae 

 and coxae silvery. Abdomen deep blue, the seventh and eighth segments violet. 

 Sides silvery. Venter pale golden with a broad median blue area. Eighth segment 

 with terminal bristles. 



Legs dark blue and violet. Femora pale golden beneath. Hind tarsi only marked 

 with white the fourth segment, all but its tip. 



Male. Antennae densely plumose; second segment stout, as long as the next 

 three; its crest densely clothed with semi-erect scales. Palpi blue and violet, seg- 

 ments 2, 3 and 4 with scattered golden scales and pale mauve apices. Second seg- 

 ment slightly shorter than fourth, third slightly longer; the fifth longer than the 

 third and fourth together. Mesothorax with blue median line becoming green 

 posteriorly and merging into the color of the scutellum. On each side of the blue 

 median line a dull brown stripe from the front to the basal third. Well forward and 

 close to the pale lateral stripe is a patch of very dark blue scales; behind this, along 

 the basal half, is another stripe of dull brown. All these markings are obscured by 

 a sprinkling of bright green scales. Over the roots of the wings are patches of 

 brilliant blue scales. Abdomen blue, violet on the seventh and eighth segments. 

 Light spots at the sides of some of the segments. Under side silvery with a median 

 blue stripe, the eighth segment violet, the ninth with a silvery spot. Lateral hairs 

 pale yellow, dark on the eighth and ninth segments. 



Legs deep blue and violet. Under side of femora silvery or pale golden. Hind 

 tarsi with the fourth segment mostly white. 



Length, 7-9 mm. 



Type: No. 9955, U. S. N. M. 



Locality: San Francisco Mts., Santo Domingo, West Indies (A. Busck). 



3 c?, 1 j. Bred from larvae found in tree-holes. The male and female agree in 

 tarsal markings and our specimens show no variation. The difference in the mark- 

 ing of the thorax of the female are due to abrasion, the description of the male 

 shows the appearance in perfect specimens. This is the only species we have seen 

 in which the tarsal markings are identical in the two sexes. 



The description of portoricensis, as far as it goes, agrees with our species. The 

 species is founded on a single male. Until we can compare specimens of both sexes 

 from Portorico we assume the Santo Domingan form to be a distinct species. 



