Proceedings of 

 the United States 

 National Museum 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION . WASHINGTON, D.C. 



Volume 121 1967 



Number 3569 



SOLDIER FLY LARVAE IN AMERICA NORTH OF MEXICO ' 



By Max W. McFadden ^ 



The Stratiomyidae or soldier flies are represented in America north 

 of Mexico by approximately 237 species distributed through 37 

 genera. Prior to this study, larvae have been described for only 21 

 species representmg 15 genera. In addition to the lack of adequate 

 descriptions and keys, classification has seldom been attempted and 

 a phylogenetic treatment of the larvae has never been presented. 



The present study has been undertaken with several goals in mind: 

 (1) to rear and describe as many species as possible; (2) to redescribe 

 all previously described larvae of North American species; and (3), 

 on the basis of larval characters, to attempt to define various taxo- 

 nomic units and show phylogenetic relationships withm the family 

 and between it and other closely related familes. 



Any attempt to establish subfamilial and generic lunits must be 

 regarded as tentative. This is especially true in the present study 

 since larvae of so many species of Stratiomyidae remain unknown. 

 Undoubtably, as more species are reared, changes mil have to be 

 made in keys and definitions of taxa. 



The keys have been prepared chiefly for identification of last 

 mstar larvae. If earher mstars are known, they either have been 



1 Modified from a Ph. D. dissertation submitted to the University of Alberta 

 E(hnonton, Canada. ' 



2 Entomology Research Division, U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Tobacco Insects 

 Investigations, P.O. Box 1011, Oxford, N.C. 27565. 



