FLIES OF THE GENUS OGCODES — SCHLINGER 253 



Ogcodes (Ogcodes) basalis (Walker) 



Plate figures 46, 101 



Henops basalis Walker, Ins. Saunders. Dipt., vol. 1, p. 203, 1852. 



Oncodes basalts, Hardy, in part, Pap. Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania for 1917, pp. 



60-61, 1918.— Brunetti, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. 18, p. 599, 1926. 

 Oncodes basilis, Hardy, in part, Pap. Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania for 1917, pp. 



60-61, 1918; in part, Pap. Proc. Roy. Soc. Tasmania for 1921, p. 78, 1940; 



in part, Proc. Linn. Soc. New South Wales, vol. 45, pp. 486-487, 1940. 



Type locality: New South Wales, Australia (Id", BMNH). 



Diagnosis: This species is a member of the pallidipennis group. 

 The males are typically brightly tricolored, black, orange, and white; 

 the females typically quadricolored, black and brown with some 

 orange and white marldngs. Both sexes have posterior white tergal 

 fasciae and a black thorax. The wings may be infuscated or nearly 

 clear. The female abdomen is mostly brown above, white below, 

 while the male is white below and the dorsum is orange with median 

 and lateral black spots (sometimes with a brownish tinge), the former 

 usually on tergites ii-iv, the latter on ii-vi. The legs of the male 

 are briglit orange except for browned coxae, basal one-half of femora, 

 and tarsi, while the female legs are mostly dark brown to black, but 

 usually with orange marldngs on knees and apex of tibiae. Vein Mi 

 and crossvein r-m are strong. The male genitalia resemble those of 

 several species of the group, but are actually most similar to varius 

 Latreille and philippinensis, new species (see pi. 13, figs. 99, 101, 109). 



Discussion: The identity of this species has been often confused 

 since its description by Walker. Hardy (1918) synonymized nine 

 species under basalis of which five were from Tasmania, and in 1922 

 he added one more to the Hst. Brunetti (1926) examined the holot3^pe 

 of basalis, but, strangely enough, compared it only with his Ceylonese 

 species, rufomarginatus, and thus his discussion is of Uttle use here. 

 Hardy (1940), in a brief synopsis of the Australian species, concluded 

 that all the species except variegatus Brunetti were merely color 

 variants of basalis (as basilis) , a conclusion based on Kmited material 

 and superficial characters. Plomley's (1947a, 1947b) interesting 

 works on the biology and taxonomy of basalis actually dealt with 

 pygmaeus White. He also had specimens oifortnumi Westwood from 

 the same locahty, but did not figure the latter species. This mis- 

 identification became apparent by an examination of several of his 

 specimens which had been determined by Paramonov as either 

 pygmaeus ov Jortnumi. 



It seems probable that darwinii Westwood is a s>T)onym of basalis, 

 but this will have to await an examination of the types. Aside from 

 other possible Australian relatives, basalis is related to philippinensis, 



