436 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.43. 



spines at near basal third and one pre-apical spine, hind tibise with 

 one long spine at slightly beyond basal third on dorsal surface, one at 

 near apex on antero-dorsal surface, one at nearer to apex on antero- 

 ventral surface and two end spurs, basal hind tarsal joint almost as 

 long as tibise, with 4-5 long bristles on ventral surface besides the usual 

 short setulse and long apical spur; wings gi'ay, more darkened at tip, 

 very narrow and long, costa distinctly short of middle, very much 

 swoUen, twice as thick as third vem, humeral vein and all basal por- 

 tions of the thick veins pale yellow and very indistinct, first costal 

 division twice as long as second, fourth vein almost entirely straight, 

 leaving third at slightly beyond end of first vein and ending with a 

 downward curve at extreme apex very distinctly in front of wing tip, 

 fifth vein almost entirely straight ending with an upward curve at 

 apex just at tip of wing, sixth and seventh veins nearly straight costal 

 fringe of good length, third vein with 2-3 hair-like bristles at base; 

 halteres yellow. 



Length, 4 mm. 



Type.— Cat. No. 14831, U.S.N.M. 



One male. Paraiso, Panama Canal Zone, January 15, 1911 

 (August Busck). Easily known from any other described species by 

 the nearly straight wing veins, the fourth and fifth of which are 

 abruptly convergent at extreme apices. 



Genus CONICERA Meigen. 



The species in this genus are in some cases very difficult to sepa- 

 rate, especially in the females. In the c^se of similis ^ Haliday and 

 atra Meigen the only good distinction lies in the comparative length 

 and breadth of the third antennal joint. In atra it is two and a half 

 times as long as its basal breadth, in similis one and a half times. 

 They seem, however, to be good species, although t^ery closely allied. 

 The specimens of atra in the collection here agree with the European 

 species, but a few from the District of Columbia have the legs much 

 paler than European examples. The specimen standing as C. atra, 

 var. neotropica Brues, I believe, belongs to a distinct species. The 

 only American species not in table is Jcerteszi Brues from Peru. This 

 has the second and third fore tarsal joints widened and flattened, 

 the hind tibise with one spine at middle and another just before the 

 tip, as well as having the fourth vein strongly recurved before its 

 tip. The type is in the National Museum of Hungary in Budapest. 



TABLE OF SPECIES. 



1. Third antennal joint rather globose at base, produced into a very long narrow point, 

 thickly pubescent on the thin apical portion and reaching beyond vertex. 



aldrichi, p. 437. 



> C- similis is not recorded from America. 



