OF THE TABANIDiE OF THE UNITED STATES. 441 



men from Florida, it is of a dull cinereous, with whitish lines ; its srrface is clothed with 

 short black hairs, esi^ecially apparent at the base of the scutellum). PleurEe grayish white, 

 with white hairs ; a fringe of black hair between the humei'us and the root of the wings. 

 Abdomen black or dark brown ; the hind margins of the segments have white borders, ex- 

 panding into large white triangles in the middle, and becoming broader towards the lateral 

 margins ; segments six and seven show but vestiges of white, ^^enter brown, or reddish 

 brown, more whitish on the sides ; hind margins of segments white. Legs : femora black or 

 brown, the four posterior ones with whitish hairs ; tibiic yellowish white, blackish at tip ; 

 distal half of front tibioe black. Wings grayish subliyaline ; stigma brown, its environs 

 sometimes faintly tinged with brownish ; first posterior cell considerably coarctate at the 

 tip, sometimes nearly closed. Length, 17-19 mm. 



Hab. Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia (J. Ridings) ; Cedar Keys, Florida (June 4, E. 

 Schwarz) ; Kentucky (Wied.). Five females. 



The identification of Wiedemann's description cannot be doubtful, as the coarctate pos- 

 terior cell easily helps to recognize this species. There is a superficial resemblance between 

 T. mekmocerus and T. moleshis, but they are easily distinguished by the size of the trian- 

 gle on the second abdominal segment, which is nearly of the same size as on the third seg- 

 ment in melanocerus, but two or three times smaller in molestus. T. melanocerus, like 

 T. coffeatus, has no crossbands on the eyes. 



I have seen this species in some European collections under the name of T. excesiuans 

 Linn., the original type of which, figured in DeGeer, was from Surinam. There is nothing 

 in the descriptions of Linne, DeGeer^ and Fabricius, to prevent this identification. At the 

 same time, in view of the shortness of these descriptions and of the difference in the local- 

 ity, it will be safer to retain Wiedemann's name, the identification of which cannot in the 

 least be doubtful. Wiedemann quotes T. exceshians among the species he had not seen. 



13. Tabanus coffeatus. 



Tahanus coffeatus Macqnart, 2" Suppl., p. 23, 109 ; male. 



? Tabanus nigripes Wiedemann, Aviss. Zw., I, p. 142, 50 ; male. 



Female. Palpi yellowish white, clothed on their distal half with minute black hairs ; 

 face white, with white hairs ; front dark grayish, mixed with blackish brown ; frontal 

 callosity reddish brown or dark brown, but little longer than broad, with a linear prolonga- 

 tion above ; subcallus often denuded ; antennae black, a vestige of reddish at the base of 

 the third joint; this joint rather bi-oad, its upper angle obtuse. Thorax gray, with whitish 

 longitudinal lines ; (well preserved specimens show a broad stripe of gray pollen, luore 

 dense on each side, and with a fine longitudinal line in the middle). Pleui-a^ grayish white, 

 with white hairs mixed with a few black ones ; a fringe of black laid between the humerus 

 and the root of the wings. Abdomen brownish black ; the hind margins of the segments 

 have white borders expanding into large white triangles in the middle, and becoming 

 broader towards the lateral marsjins ; segments six and seven show 1)ut vestiges of white. 

 Venter brownish black, hind margins of the segments white. Legs black ; tibiae more or 



^DeGeer's figure shows broad abdominal crossbands and cation with T. melanocerus. 

 no triangles, which, if correct, would be against the identifi- 



