Proceedings of 

 the United States 

 National Museum 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION • WASHINGTON, D.C. 



Volume 123 1967 Number 3603 



The Species of Hermetia of the aurata Group 

 (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) 



By Maurice T. James and Willis W. Wirth l 



James {in Stone et al., 1965, "Catalog of the Diptera of America 

 North of Mexico," Agric. Res. Serv. Handbook 276) listed Hermetia 

 aurata Bellardi (with H. a. eiseni Townsend as a subspecies and 

 H. chrysopila Loew as a synonym), as a single variable species with 

 wide geographic distribution in the southwestern United States and 

 Mexico. Though some spade work that had been done by Wirth 

 indicated that the three forms were specifically distinct and, in 

 addition, several undescribed taxa were involved, more time and 

 specimens were necessary to resolve the problem. The present 

 study is built upon this foundation and includes a preliminary key 

 plus additional material that has been assembled from a number of 

 collections: the United States National Museum, the American 

 Museum of Natural History, the California Academy of Sciences, 

 Cornell University, Ohio State University, Michigan State University, 

 the University of Kansas, Kansas State University, Washington 



1 James: Department of Entomology, Washington State University, Pullman, 

 Washington (Scientific Paper 2859, College of Agriculture, Washington State 

 University; work conducted under Project 9043). Wirth: Insect Identification 

 and Parasite Introduction Research Branch, Entomology Research Division, 

 Agriculture Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 



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