8 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.79 



thence continuing diagonally to costa; first posterior cell narrowly 

 open about two-thirds the length of hind crossvein before wing tip ; 

 third vein with two or three hairs at base; hind crossvein sinuous, 

 strongly oblique to fourth, which it joins much nearer bend than 

 small crossvein; costal spine inconspicuous, 



Fe77iale.— Front 0.387 of head width (average of six: 0.38, 0.39, 

 0.40, 0.38, 0.37, 0.40) ; the usual orbitals present and the outer 

 verticals three-fourths as long as inner; fourth abdominal segment 

 somewhat deflexed, longer and more pointed than in male, some- 

 times tinged w4th red at a])ex, the pollinose cross band is a little 

 wider at sides than at middle above; claws and pulvilli short; genital 

 segments retracted, first one yellow, consisting of a thin- walled tube 

 rather wide in diameter into which the blackish blunt-tipped oviposi- 

 tor is retracted. 



Length, 6 mm. to 8.5 mm. 



Described from 143 specimens of both sexes collected at College 

 Station, Tex., April to November, 1917-1930 (H. J. Reinhard) ; one 

 male from Diiley, Tex., June 6, 1924 (H. J. Reinhard) ; and one male 

 and two females from Bexar County, Tex., March 8 and April 14, 

 1929 (H. B. Parks). 



Type.— Male, U.S.N.M. No. 43270, from College Station, Tex. 



Genus SIPHOSTURMIOPSIS Townsend 



f^ipJwstiirmiopsis Townsend. Iiis. Insc. Meiist., vol. 3. p. 91, 1915. 



The type and sole original species is S. rafaeli Townsend. It was 

 described from one male and two female specimens, which Coquillett 

 had previously determined as Atacta ruficauda van der Wulp, al- 

 though this fact was not mentioned by Townsend. The question of 

 the oldest valid name is left open and can be settled only by 

 examination of Wulp's type in the British Museum. 



I have examined Townsend's type series in the National Museum. 

 Briefly, the genus has the same characters throughout as Slphos- 

 turmia with one important exception. The apical joint of the pro- 

 boscis is short, hardly equaling one-half the height of head, it is 

 rather thick to the tip, and the labella is distinctly enlarged, soft 

 or almost fleshy in texture. These characters seem sufficient to 

 validate the genus, and two additional species, melam-pyga^ new, and 

 Sturmia phyciocUs Coquillett, are included here. The latter does 

 not possess the peculiar conical and depressed fourth abdominal 

 segment common to the female of the siphosturmine group. In 

 other details, however, the characters agree better with those common 

 to the tribe Siphosturmiini than with Sfur?)ua, where it is obviously 

 misplaced. 



