KEY TO THE NEARCTIC SPECIES OF THE GENUS 

 LAPHRIA (DIPTERA, ASILIDiEj. 



By W. L. McAtee. 



Working up material for a list of the Asilidae of the District 

 of Columbia region necessitated the present revision. The fact 

 that it is necessary to describe as new, five species from this 

 area, of a single genus of flies of as large average size as the 

 Asilidae, would indicate that there is still -plenty of work for 

 entomologists in the most frequented collecting grounds. Mr. 

 Nathan Banks who is collaborating on the Asilid list has found 

 it necessary to describe also one species each of Leptogaster, 

 Diodria, Dasyllis and Asilus from local collections. 



In determining the status of our three described and five 

 undescribed species of Laphria, it became desirable to see as 

 much material as possible. For generous loans of specimens 

 and other help the writer is indebted to Messrs. C. P. Alexander, 

 Nathan Banks, W. S. Fisher, C. T. Greene, J. S. Hine, F. Knab, 

 J. R. Malloch, and W. R. Walton. Professor J. M. Aldrich 

 kindly furnished valuable bibliographic references. Of the 

 species of Laphria listed by Aldrich,* amanda Walker (which 

 appears to be a Nusa), coerulea Williston (now willistoniana 

 Enderlein), componens Walker, homopoda Bellardi, ichneumon 

 Osten Sacken, marginalis Williston, numitor Osten Sacken, 

 olbus Walker, ruficauda Williston, and triligata Walker, so far 

 as known, are entirely neotropical in distribution. 



In the same list — a collection of 35 names in all — the fol- 

 lowing cases of synonymy occur: hilineata Walker = gi7ya Lin- 

 neaus; pubescens WiWiston = sadales Walker; and Xanthippe 

 Williston = (Lampria) felis Osten Sacken. The Hst may be 

 further reduced by the elimination of one preoccupied name, 

 anthrax Williston, not Meigen= carbonarius Snow. 



* Aldrich, J. M., A Catalogue of North American Diptera, Smiths. Misc. 

 Coll. Vol. m, 1905, pp. 272-3. 



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