OF THE TABANID^ OF THE UNITED STATES. 455 



This species varies in appearance very much. Northern specimens, for instance those 

 found round Boston, often have the wings pale brown, even yellowish bi'own, towards the 

 posterior margin. The most remarkable variety, however, I received from Florida (Indian 

 River, E. Palmer ; Haulover Beach, March 12-14, Messrs. Hubbard and Schwarz) ; the 

 thorax on each side bears a fringe of golden yellow hairs, not a trace of which is visible in 

 ordinary specimens. I have four specimens from Florida, and two from some other south- 

 ern locality not nearer defined, which show this peculiarity. A very sm.all specimen from 

 Key West (Feb. 7, 1869, in Mr. E. Burgess' collection) has none of these hairs. The very 

 broad front, broad frontal callus, shining subcallus and coarctate first posterior cell, prove, 

 I think, the sj^ccific identity of all these varieties. 



The 2\ vcdidus Wiedemann is, to all appearance, based upon a brownish or reddish 

 colored specimen of T. atratvs. Drury's name, T. americamis (1773), although the old- 

 est, cannot have the priority on account of T. americanus Forster (1771), which is T. nifi- 

 cornis Fab. 



The eyes of T. cdrahis, according to Dr. Harris (Ins. Inj. to Veget., 3d Edit., p. 602), 

 " are of a shining purjile black or bronzed black color, with a narrow jet black band across 

 the middle, and a broad band of the same hue on the lower part." I have revived, on wet 

 sand, the eyes of specimens from Texas and from Mas.sachusetts (with the yellowish hind 

 border of the wing), and have found them to agree with this description. 



32. Tabanus "Wiedemanni. 



Tabaniis ater Wiedemann (non Palisot-Beauv.) Auss. Zweifl., I, p. 136, 39 (ex parte; non Dipt. Exot.). 



Female. Altogether black, with a slight brownish pollen on the thorax, grayish in front. 

 Face and front also with a Ijrownish pollen ; antennte black, upper angle of third joint very 

 salient ; the basal portion of this joint rather broad ; annulate portion not longer than the 

 basal portion. Frontal callus square, black, shining, prolonged upwards as a black, shining 

 stripe, not quite reaching the vertex, and nearly as broad as the callus, leaving but a nar- 

 row strip of the brownish front on each side ; subcallus less shining, somewhat denuded. 

 Wings dark brown ; a still darker brown cloud on the bifurcation of the third vein ; first 

 basal cell perceptibly coarctate. Length, 16 mm. 



Hah. Enterprise, Florida, May 17, 1875. Messrs. Hubbard and Schwarz. 



Wiedemann described T. ater for his Diptera Exotica from Westermann's collection in 

 Copenhagen. Later, when writing his "Aussereurop. Zweifl. Ins.," he identified a specimen 

 of the Vienna Museum with his earlier description (without having the original specimens 

 before him), but added : " It agrees very well with my description, only the coloring, 

 especially of the abdomen, is more blackish brown than deep black. The front is very 

 smooth, has a transverse subcallus and above it a hroad, smooth str'tj^e, running towards 

 the vertex." This addition, and especially the last character, proves, to my mind, that 

 Wiedemann had the present species before him ; but whether his former description refers 

 to the same species, seems doubtful to me. In several details (very small tooth of the third 

 antennal joint, front shining black, very convex front behind the antennre) that description 

 points to T. luguiris ; only the size of the female, seven lines, is too large for it. At any 

 rate, the name T. ater cannot be used, on account of the much older T. ater Ecssi (1790). 



