256 



UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 224 



but aedeagus small and concealed. Females 'with 

 acanthophorites, a row of short spines on each side. 



Distribution: Ethiopian: Pegesimallus apicalis 

 Bromley (1947) ; claelius "Walker (1849) ; ursinus Loew 

 (1858). 



Genus Lagodias Loew 



Figures 185, 99A, 99B, 128, 523, 1051, 1060, 1598 



Lagodias Loew, Ofvers. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Fbrhandl., vol. 14, 

 p. 345, 1S58. Type of genus : Lagodias albidipennis Loew, 

 1858, by nionotypy. 



Moderately large flies of bare aspect with long, slen- 

 der legs and long, slender clavate abdomen. The cer- 

 vix is long, bristles are reduced on the face to 1 

 or 2 long hairs ; the proboscis is elongate and greatly 

 compressed laterally. The wings are long and slen- 

 der. These flies are closely related to Neolaparus Wil- 

 liston. The females are distinguished with difficulty 

 but the males are easily recognized by the copious, lat- 

 eral fringes of long, flattened scales on the hind femur, 

 tibia and tarsus. Both sexes of Lagodias may be sep- 

 arated from the related Neolaparus and also from 

 Pegesimallus Loew by the absence of the ventral hypo- 

 pleural patch of dense pile. Both of these other re- 

 lated genera have this patch present above the hind 

 coxa. Length 25 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The face is moderately promi- 

 nent, a little more extensive at the epistoma and gently 

 convex or subbullose dorsolaterally. The occiput is 

 very poorly developed, nearly obliterated in profile 

 but slightly swollen in the medial region. The occip- 

 ital pile is moderately abundant, long and fine ; bristles 

 are absent or reduced to bristly hairs behind the vertex. 

 The proboscis is long, slender, strongly compressed 

 laterally, with rounded apex and plane below; it is ta- 

 pered dorsally and appears constricted basally because 

 the medial ridge is restricted to the middle portion. 

 The apex bears a little fine pile below and the middle of 

 the base has a few fine, long hairs. Palpus with the 

 first segment short, excavated, fused at the base and vir- 

 tually eliminated. The second segment is long, cylin- 

 drical, a little constricted ventrally in the middle and 

 bears a few, extremely long, fine hairs along the whole 

 ventral surface and a number of long, stiff bristles 

 apically; pore absent. 



Head, anterior aspect: The face below antenna is 

 one-third the head width. The subepistoma is large, 

 as long as the face, oblique, concave and bare. Face 

 densely pollinose for the most part, usually bare in 

 bullae if these are present and bearing 1 or sometimes 

 2 very long, stout pairs of oblique bristles. Sides of 

 the face with 10 to 12 fine hairs, the lower ones along 

 the subepistomal margin longer but all quite slender. 

 The antenna is attached above the upper third, long 

 and slender; the first segment stouter but considerably 

 shorter than the second ; the second segment is 3 or 

 more times as long as its apical width and narrowed 

 basally. The third segment is iy 2 to 2 times the com- 



bined length of the first 2 segments, slightly dilated 

 on the outer half. It bears a large, short microsegment, 

 open apically, which carries a short spine. Front pol- 

 linose, with medial fissure, submedial bullae, the ocular 

 margins and the submedial area with 4 or 5 long, fine 

 hairs; vertex deeply excavated, the ocellarium large, 

 with steeply slanted sides, large ocelli, and 2 or 3 pairs 

 of moderately long, fine, bristly hairs behind the ocelli. 

 Anterior eye facets a little enlarged. 



Thorax: The thorax is pollinose, the pile of the 

 mesonotum is scanty but long and bristly and restricted 

 to the lateral margins; there is a well developed double 

 row of acrostical elements, a large patch of setae or 

 bristly hairs medial to the humerus and dorsocentral 

 bristles which become a little stouter but not longer. 

 Humerus with only rather fine, short pile. The lateral 

 bristles are long and stout and consist of 1 notopleural, 

 2 or 3 supraalar, 1 postalar, and no scutellar bristles. 

 Scutellum flat, thick and pollinose. Propleuron with 

 only scanty, fine, long pile including the pronotum; 

 the cervix is unusually long. Posterior mesopleuron, 

 upper and anterior sternopleuron, posterior and ante- 

 rior hypopleuron with scanty, long, fine pile. Meta- 

 pleuron with similar pile and 2 or 3 long, slender 

 bristles. Metanotal slopes micropubescent only ; lateral 

 and ventral metasterum with scanty, long, fine pile; 

 postmetacoxal area membranous; tegula with bristles. 

 Anterior basalare with a few, fine hairs. Prosternum 

 small and dissociated. 



Legs: The legs are exceptionally long and slender 

 and with scanty, fine, appressed, reduced pile; such 

 bristles as are present are stout but short. The follow- 

 ing complement is present : hind femur with 1 apical 

 lateral, 1 subapical dorsolateral, and 1 dorsomedial; 

 the tibia has 4 dorsal bristles, the basal element 

 doubled. In males the hind femur, tibia and tarsus 

 bear on each side a remarkable, close-set, single rank 

 or fringe of long, wide, thin, pointed, striate scales 

 which forms a quite broad, conspicuous, lateral and 

 medial row on the sides of these legs. The middle and 

 anterior femora generally lack such a fringe. Middle 

 femur with 3 or 4 minute, posterior and 5 anterior 

 bristles; its tibia has 4 dorsal, the basal element 

 doubled, 4 anterior bristles, 5 or 6 posterior, 5 ventral, 

 the 2 elements of which are long, stout and oblique. 

 Anterior femur with a minute bristle posteriorly 

 towards the base and 1 at the apex on either side. An- 

 terior tibia with 3 or 4 dorsal bristles, the basal element 

 again doubled, also 6 posterior and a pair of stout, 

 long, ventral bristles near the apex. The apex bears 

 a stout protuberance which carries an apical spine or 

 spinous bristle. Basitarsus with a long, flangelike 

 plate. All basitarsi exceptionally long and slender. 

 All tarsi end in long pulvilli and empodium and sharp 

 claws. 



Wings: The wings are comparatively long and 

 hyaline. Marginal cell and all posterior cells widely 

 open ; the anal cell open ; the fourth posterior cell may 

 be slightly narrowed ; second basal cell ends in a short 



