274 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [Dec., '19 



great variation in this group of insects, characters which 

 might be considered generic in other families are of only spe- 

 cific value here. Ordinarily the absence of pulvilli and em- 

 podia would place it in a new family, but it is clearly a Cyr- 

 tid. and there are no corresponding changes elsewhere in the 

 organism. Most species of Anthrax lack pulvilli, but some 

 have them, so this is a variable character in the nearly related 

 Bombyliidae. 



The antennae are very remarkable, but as we know only 

 the male they may be a secondary sexual character. Tn the 

 genus Eulonchus the third antennal joint is greatly enlarged 

 and in Ocnaca (in the subfamily Panopinae) there are several 

 species with a large third antennal joint. In Ocnaca schwarzi 

 Cole from Cuba the third antennal joint is large and laterally 

 compressed. In the Cvrtidae the two sexes are almost iden- 

 tical in appearance and if the remarkable antennae of Campo- 

 sella are a male ornamental character it will be the first in- 

 stance of this kind in the Cvrtidae. The unusual development 

 of the antennae gives a great sensitive surface and it may be 

 that this is utilized by the male in locating the female. The 

 overdevelopment of one organ may be at the expense of an- 

 other, and in this case the ocellar tubercle is rudimentary and 

 the ocelli absent, but this is another variable character in the 

 Cvrtidae. 



In this species we have a connecting link between Lasla and 

 Ocnaea. Parasitism has undoub'edly modified other genera 

 in the Cvrtidae and we see here a changing species. The an- 

 cestral type was near I.asia and Eulonchus, both with a long 

 proboscis ; here the proboscis is aborted and the lower branch 

 of the fourth vein has disappeared. It is undoubtedly a de- 

 generate offshoot from the primitive type, the genus Panops 

 in Australia being another such branch. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI. 



Fig. I. Camposella insignata n. gen. et sp. a. Last tarsal joint and 

 claws, showing absence of pulvilli. b. Drawing showing excavated 

 face and rudimentary proboscis. Most of the antennae are cut away 

 in this view of the head. 



Fig. 2. Wing of Lasia sp., nomenclature according to the Comstock 

 system. 



