355 



1. Veins 4 and 5 almost parallel apically coloradensis. 



— Veins 4 and 5 very distinctly divergent apically 2 



2. Legs and antenna? black; scutelluin polished; basal joint of fore 



tarsi almost as long as fore tibise eurynota. 



— Legs and antennae yellowish, more or less inf uscated apically ; scutel- 



lum subopaque, shagreened, basal joint of fore tarsi not two thirds 

 as long as fore tibiae flavofemorata. 



The genus Platyphora was described by Verrall in 1877 with the 

 genotype lubbocki Verrall, a myrmecophilous species found in Britain''', 

 Nothing was known of the female of the species for a number of 

 years. In 1890 Meinert described the genus Ainigmatias-'f with the 

 genotype hlattoides Meinert. Mik suggested in 1898I that Mnig- 

 matias was the female of Platyphora. The most definite statement 

 concerning the relations of the genera is that published by Donis- 

 thrope.§ In this paper it is stated definitely that the genera are synony- 

 mous, Platyphora being simply the winged male and Mnigmatias the 

 apterous female of the same genus. This decision was arrived at from 

 data obtained in connection with observations made on ants' nests in 

 which the species of Platyphora occur. I am not aware of any copulat- 

 ing record having been made prior to that in the present paper, the de- 

 cision as to the specific identity of the European species resting upon 

 the fact that only males of Platyphora and only females of A^nig- 

 matias were obtainable, and that both occurred in the immature stages 

 in the same nests. The record now published confirms the previous 

 one by Donisthorpe, if such confirmation were required. 



Coquillett described as a male a female discovered in Arizona. 1| 

 This species, schzvarzi Coquillett, is very similar to flavofemorata, and 

 a comparison of the foregoing description with Coquillett's type will 

 be necessary to discover specific differences, although his description 

 seems to indicate that the two are distinct. It is pertinent to indicate 

 here that the females of neither of the species described by Brues are 

 known. 



In the case of flavofemorata the species was found on a sandy bank 

 where there were numerous ants' nests. The male was running about 

 fairly rapidly, and it was only after I had inverted a cyanide bottle 

 over it that I discovered the attached female. The latter was carried 

 apparently curled forward under the abdomen of the male and was 



*Jour. Linn. Soc. Lond., Zool., Vol. 13, 1877, p. 259. 

 tEntom. Meddel., Vol. 2, 1890, p. 213. 

 tWien Ent. Zeit., Vol. 17, 1898, p. 204. 

 §Ent. Eec, Vol. 26, 1914, p. 276. 

 ||Can. Ent., Vol. 35, 1903, p. 21. 



