DAS1P0GONINAB 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



243 



Head, anterior aspect: The head is moderately wide; 

 the face below the antenna is about one-third of the 

 head width and very slightly wider below. The supra- 

 epistomal region has a mystax of 40 to 45 long, stiff, 

 white hairs disposed irregularly; the upper three- 

 fourths of the face, except immediately below the an- 

 tenna has dense, pale pile which is less than half as long 

 as the lower mystax. The front is wider than the face 

 below the antenna and bears long pile along the sides. 

 Vertex shallowly excavated above ; the sides of the low 

 ocellar tubercle are steep and abrupt ; the tubercle bears 

 about 15 long, black hairs. Anterior eye facets 

 distinctly enlarged. 



Thorax : The mesonotum is long, slightly convex and 

 everywhere bears dense, fine, erect, long pile. The fol- 

 lowing complement of bristles is present : 2 notopleural, 

 2 to 4 supraalar, 4 postalar, and 4 pairs on the scutellar 

 margin. The humerus and scutellar disc both bear pile. 

 Scutellum is convex with the margin convex. Propleu- 

 ron and the very low, inconspicuous pronotal collar, 

 both with very dense, long, fine pile. Both upper and 

 lower section of post mesopleuron with abundant, fine, 

 long pile. Hypopleuron pilose, all areas of the pleuron 

 micropubescent ; metapleuron convex, with numerous, 

 widespread, scattered, long, fine hairs. Metanotal cal- 

 losities micropubescent only; prosternum dissociated; 

 postmetacoxal area membranous. 



Legs: The hind femur rather short and not thick- 

 ened, with most bristles white; it bears 4 dorsolateral 

 on the apical half, 2 dorsomedial at apex, 1 strong, 

 ventrolateral subbasal and 4 extremely long ventral 

 bristles, besides other very fine hairs ventrally and 

 dorsally on basal half which are long basally, becoming 

 shorter distally. Hind tibia with 6 dorsal, 4 lateral, 

 2 ventral bristles, all long and stout. The apex bears 



1 lateral, 1 ventral, and 3 medial bristles. Middle 

 femur with abundant, long, fine pile and 1 anterior, 1 

 posterior subapical bristle; its tibia with 2 basal an- 

 terior, 2 dorsoapical, 3 posterior, and 3 posteroventral 

 bristles. The apex of its tibia characteristically bears 



2 posterior and 2 short ventral, clawlike or spikelike 

 bristles or spines which are curved downwards or back- 

 wards. Anterior femur with 2 posterior subapical 

 bristles; anterior tibia with 3 posteroventral bristles 

 and long, fine, ventral pile, besides short dorsal pile 

 and 7 short, microscopic, reddish setate bristles; an- 

 terior surface with dense, reddish, short pile. The 

 apex bears 3 ventral bristles of which one is long and 

 stout, 1 long and 1 short medial, 2 dorsal and 1 weak, 

 lateral bristle ; it does bear ventrolaterally a short pro- 

 tuberance to which a curved, thickened, reddish, claw- 

 like spine is attached, with a second, shorter but also 

 stout spine on the same protuberance. There is no basi- 

 tarsal modification. All tarsi end in well developed pul- 

 villi, divergent, sharp claws, and stiff empodium. 



Wings: The marginal cell is open but narrowed. 

 The anterior branch of the third vein ends well above 

 the wing apex and this vein is strongly curved forward 

 distally; the base of the second posterior cell arises 

 above the third vein. All posterior cells are open but 



the fourth is a little narrowed; anal cell widely open; 

 the second basal cell ends in 3 veins, the middle vem 

 short. Alula large, ambient vein complete; wings 

 tinged with brown along the veins. 



Abdomen : The abdomen is tapered but robust basally 

 and as wide as the mesonotum; it bears dense, coarse, 

 moderately long, semiappressed pile on the tergites; 

 on the basal corners of each tergite the matted pile is 

 directed conspicuously inward or medialward in a char- 

 acteristic, subquadrate, tesselated pattern. Males with 

 seven tergites and a very short, liplike protrusion of 

 the eighth tergite medially only, from the posterior 

 margin of the seventh tergite. Females with seven ter- 

 gites, the eighth so short as to be almost concealed be- 

 neath the seventh. The male terminalia are short and 

 reduced. The epandrium is especially reduced, short 

 and divided into 2 widely separated, obtusely convex 

 pieces; the space between is filled by the flattened 

 proctiger which extends a short distance beyond the 

 apex of the epandrium and also laterally beneath it 

 Gonopod small and short but larger than the associated 

 components; it expands ventrally beneath the short 

 hypandrium. Female terminalia with more or less re- 

 cessed acanthophorites which bear about 5 compara- 

 tively stout spines on each side. 



Distribution : Australian : Questopogon clarkii Dakin 

 andFordham (1922). 



Genus Dakinomyia Hardy 



Fiqukes 66, 510, 1075, 1084, 1801, 1802, 1896, 1900 



Dakinomyia Hardy, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 10, vol. 14, p. 

 25, 1934. Type of genus: Neosaropogon froggattii Dakin 

 and Fordham, 1922, by original designation. 



Large flies of bare aspect with long, subcylindrical 

 and tapered abdomen. They resemble Stenopogon 

 Loew superficially but are distinguished by the rotate 

 male terminalia and the conspicuous and exceptionally 

 long, distal extension of the second, third and fourth 

 posterior cells. The bristles are strong and on the face 

 restricted to the epistoma. Length 27 to 40 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect: The head is short, with the 

 anterior eye margin at most gently convex. The face 

 is moderately extensive with a short, low, eminence 

 beneath the antenna and the epistoma produced to 

 nearly the same extent and occupying at most only the 

 lowest fifth of the face; intervening part of face shal- 

 lowly concave. The occiput is not prominent but is 

 most swollen at a considerable distance inward from 

 the eye margin. Bristles almost at the bottom of the 

 occiput, are moderately strong and pale as far upward 

 as the middle of the head, at which point they become 

 more stout and change in color to black; they are 

 especially stout and form a deep-set patch far below the 

 vertex; there are at least 25 black bristles on each 

 side. Proboscis long, moderately stout, with plane 

 lower margin and slightly convex upper margin ; a high 

 dorsal ridge is present except near the apex, where it is 

 continued but much lower; apical fourth with a few, 



