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NORTH AMERICAN DIPTERA 



Family Lonchopteridae — The Pointed-wing- Flies 



Lonchoptera sp. 



Small, slender brownish or yellowish flies, the length 2 to 5 mm. 



Head bristly; ocelli present; antenna? short, the third segment 

 rounded, with a terminal arista. Legs moderately long, bristly, the 

 pulvilli very small; empodia absent. Wings pointed apically, with 

 only the basal crossveins, the anal cell closed; first vein very short, the 

 fourth furcate. 



The adults are found in moist places and especially 

 along shady brooks. The larva^ live under leaves and 

 decaying vegetation; they are flat, with long bristles 

 on the anterior two and apical segments; ten seg- 

 ments, the head not differentiated; posterior apiracles 

 l)roadly separated on the apical segment. The larva 

 Lonchoptera, head transforms into a prepupa within the larval skin and 

 later into a true i)upa. 



The family contains less than two dozen species, all belonging to the 

 genus LoncJwptera jNIeigen. A key to the American species is given 

 below. Descriptions of them are contained in American IMuseum 

 Novitates No. 696. 



