IX. — North American Conopid^: Conchtsion* By Dr. 



S. W. WiLLISTON. 



The present paper completes a monographic review of this 

 small family of parasitic diptera, with a synopsis of the family, 

 generic, and specific characters. Forty-three species, six of which are 

 more or less doubtful, comprise the entire number now known from 

 North America — more than half as many as are known to occur in 

 Europe, and about a fifth of the entire number known throughout 

 the world. Nine genera only are recognized in this family, two of 

 which have not, so far, been detected in Noith America, viz : S^c^ls 

 and Glossif/ona. Only one genus does not appear in Europe, Stylo- 

 gaster, which is here considered the type of a distinct sub-family. 

 None of our species are known with certainty to occur else- 

 where. The species are probably all parasitic, living within the 

 bodies of other insects till ready to escape as imagos. In some cases 

 they show a remarkable mimicry of certain hvmenoptera. 



CONOPS. 

 Conops gracilis, n. sp. 



3. Length, 12'""\ Face and cheeks yellow; facial grooves 

 wholly yellow. Proboscis reddish, black at the end, base moder- 

 ately swollen, scarcely once and a half the length of the head. 

 Antennae black, the first joint and the base of the third red the 

 second joint reddish brown ; first joint more than half as long as the 

 second, the second and third of nearly equal length ; process of 

 second joint of style small, third joint moderately long, the attenu- 

 ated portion about as long as the thickened part. Front yellow 

 brownish immediately above the base of the antennae and near the 

 middle. Occiput and vertex reddish, the under part of the former 

 like the face ; posterior orbits with a narrow border of light yellow 

 dust. Thorax red, the dorsum with three broad coalescent black 

 stripes, the middle one abbreviated behind, the outer ones both in 

 front and behind ; disk of metanotum blackisli ; a small spot on 

 the inner side of each humerus yellow pollinose ; the moderately 



* For the preceding papers on this family see vol. iv, pp. .^25-342, aud vii, pp. 

 91-98 (published as separata, pp. 5-12). 



