2 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol.78 



Brauer and Bergenstamm erected Achaetoneura for hesperus^ new, 

 but added several other species without distinctly designating one as 

 type of the genus. Coquillett ^ designated hespe/ms as type. In his 

 Revision of the North American Tachinidae (p. 105, 1897), Coquil- 

 lett had included the North American species in Frontina, indicating 

 as synonyms Achaetoneura, Thysanomyia, and Parafrontina of 

 Brauer and Bergenstamm, and Prosopaea Rondani. In 1910, how- 

 ever (p. 545), he omitted Thysanomyia and Prosopaea from the 

 synonymy of Frontina. 



The type species of Frontina is Tachina laeta Meigen, by designa- 

 tion of Robineau-Desvoidy. This European species has strong discal 

 bristles on the intermediate abdominal segments, the hind tibiae 

 irregularly bristled, the third antennal joint peculiarly slender, and 

 other characters foreign to Achaetoneura. Moreover, as Allen ^ has 

 pointed out, laeta depo'sits microtype eggs on foilage, a reproductive 

 habit distinctly different from that of Achaetoneura. 



The conclusion accepted in the present paper is that Frontina in 

 the proper sense does not occur in North America and that Achaeto- 

 neura is the oldest valid name to include our species. Except Paror 

 frontina, the synonyms listed above are of more recent date than 

 Coquillett's work. 



Parafrontina, according to Townsend,' has the eyes thickly pilose 

 and could be excluded on this account; but there is evidently a 

 mistake here, as the examination of the type series of the genotypie 

 species Parafrontina apicalis Brauer and Bergenstamm shows the 

 eyes to be bare. The species is exceedingly close to Achaetoneura 

 archippivora Williston, and the genus is undoubtedly synonymous 

 with Achaetoneura. Riley ella^ was proposed by Townsend for the 

 reception of Frontina aletiae Riley,' the sole character of the genus 

 being the absence of median macrochaetae on the first and second 

 abdominal segments above, either discal or marginal. This char- 

 acter alone can scarcely be considered of generic importance in this 

 group any more than can the extremely variable characters which 

 differentiate Ypophaemyia Townsend,^ type malacosoinae Town- 

 send, from Achaetoneu/ra. According to Townsend,^ Masiceropsis 

 differs from Ypophaemyia by broader front, longer antennae in 

 female, no well-developed marcrochaetae on first abdominal segment, 

 apical cross- vein approximate to hind border of wing, hind cross 

 vein farther from bend of fourth vein, and anal segment without 



1 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus.. vol. 37, p. 502, 1910. 



* Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, vol. 52, p. 187, 1926. 

 "Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 37, p. 232, 1917. 



* Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer., vol. 2, p. 249, 1909. 

 « Canad. Ent., vol. 11, p. 162, 1879. 



* Ins. Ins. Mens., vol. 4, nos. 7-9, p. 75, 1916. 

 ' Idem, p. 76, 1916. 



