4 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.60. 



yellow, remainder of body and legs brown to black ; hind femora but 

 not the tibiae clavate, metatarsus about equal to next three joints; 

 wings smoky brown. Length of wing, 5-8 mm. 



A male and female labeled Tex. (U.S.N.M) and numerous speci- 

 mens of both sexes from Orange, Texas, September 4, 1915, and 

 Vinton Louisiana, September 5, 18, 1916, E. G. Holt, agree with 

 others from Mexico and Central America. 



Identification of this species as P. hicolor Bellardi is by no means 

 certain. I have seen another species from Guatemala which fits the 

 original description just as well. It has the hind metatarsus dis- 

 tinctly longer than the succeeding three joints of the tarsus, while 

 the species here treated has these parts of about equal length. How- 

 ever, since specimens of the latter from Mexico are at hand and the 

 known range is greater, indicating it may be the frequently recorded 

 hicolor, that name is provisionally applied to it. Williston® places 

 hicolor, as a synonym of collaris, upon what grounds he does not 

 say and I am unable to infer. The probabilities are against their 

 being identical; we can be sure that they are at least varietally dis- 

 tinct. 



PLECIA CONFUSA Locw. 



Plecia confusa Loew (Hermann), Ueber einige neue Fliegengattungen, Ber- 

 liner Entomologische Zeitschrift, vol. 2, 1858, p. 109. [A new name for 

 Plecia ruficollis Fabricixjs (J. C), Systema Antiliatorum, 1805, p. 53, 

 Middle America, as distinguished from Plecia rtcflcollis Pabeicius, Species 

 Insectorum, vol. 2, 1781, p. 410, Cape of Good Hope.] 



Head without beak, eyes as in last species ; whole thorax and coxae 

 dull to bright orange or reddish yellow; remainder of body brown 

 to black ; wings smoky brown ; hind femora but not the tibiae clavate ; 

 hind metatarsus about as long as succeeding three joints. Length 

 of wing, 6-8 mm. 



Specimens collected in Florida by Maynard and at Waco, Texas, 

 by Belfrage are in the national collection. Loew's proposal of a 

 new name for the American species resembling Plecia ^nificollis 

 Fabricius has been generally overlooked, but had Loew not taken 

 such action it would have been done by some later student of the 

 group, for there is very little probability that species from the Cape 

 of Good Hope and from Middle America are identical. Further ma- 

 terial and research may even show that Loew's name is too inclusive. 



PLECIA HETEROPTERA Say. 



B. [ibio] heteropterus Say (Thomas), Descriptions of Dipterous Insects 



of the United States, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 3, 1823, 



p. 78; Compl. Writings, vol. 2, 1859, p. 69 [Maryland]. 



Head without beak; eyes contiguous above in male, small and 



widely separated in female, ocellar tubercle prominent. A wholly 



» Biol. Centr. Amer., vol. 1, Suppl., p. 222, 1900. 



