200 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



NOTES ON THE SYRPHID FLY PIPIZA RADICUM WALSH 



AND RILEY. 



By D. W. Coquiu.ETT. 



This species was originally described from a female specimen 

 bred May 23, 1868, by B. D. Walsh, from a larva found feeding 

 upon Schizofacura lanigerd in November, 1867, at Duquoin, 

 Illinois.* In his " Bibliography of the writings of Walsh and 

 Riley, "t Mr. Samuel Henshaw indicated that this specimen is 

 in Washington, D. C., but this was evidently an error on the 

 part of his informant, since no trace ot" it can be found either in 

 the National Museum or among the insects in the collection of 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture. As this specimen was 

 bred by Walsh it in all probability formed a part of his collec 

 tion which was destroyed by fire in Chicago. 



In the ISfauonal Museum collection is a female specimen of a 

 Pipiza, labeled as having also been bred from a larva found 

 preying upon Schizoneura lanigcra, presumably at Washing 

 ton, D. C., the date of emerging being given as April 6, 1879; 

 it bears the note-book number 57, but the particular note-book 

 which refers to it does not at present appear to be in the posses 

 sion o|, either the Department of Agriculture or of the National 

 Museum. Judging by the data attached to this specimen, it is 

 , one of those referred to by Prof. J. t^. Comstock in his annual 

 report as Government entomologist for the year 1879, where the 

 species is called fct The root louse syrphus fly, presumably the 

 Pipiza radicum of Walsh and Riley."* The present specimen 

 agrees well with the original description of this species, and, hav 

 ing similar habits, is without much doubt identical with it. 



Osten, Sacken wrongly credited this species to Riley, and made 

 the .statement that it' is "apparently the same as femoralis 

 'Loevy." Why it' was so considered is not apparent, since there 

 is no mention \}\ the original description of the yellow cross-band 

 'on the second abdominal segment, which is such a conspicuous 

 feature in the last-named species. Dr. Williston placed it, with 

 ,a query, as a. synonym Q^ femoralis\ without making any com 

 ment thereon ; he. also wrongly credited it to Riley. 



A recent comparison of the original description of radicum 

 with those of the other species occurring in our fauna showed a 



* American E'rvt., i, p. 83. January. 1869. 

 + Page 374. 



% Report Cotnm. Agric. for 1879, P- 2 59- 

 Catalogue Diptera N. Am., p. 120, 1878. 

 || Synopsis N. Amer. Syrphidae, p. 26, 1886. 



