268 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



setate, bristly and semiappressed character. Hind 

 femur with 4 lateral bristles along the middle, 2 dorso- 

 lateral on the apical fourth, 1 dorsomedial near the 

 apex, 3 weaker medial bristles closer to the apex, and 3 

 weak dorsolateral bristles near the apex. Middle 

 femur with 3 weak anterior bristles, 2 or 3 near the 

 apex dorsally on each side. The anterior femur with 

 1 bristle on the basal third anteriorly, 3 at the apex 

 anteriorly, and 2 posterodorsally on the outer fourth. 

 The posterior tibia with 5 or G weak dorsomedial 

 bristles, 5 well developed dorsolateral, and 7 ventro- 

 lateral bristles; apex with 8 bristles. Middle tibia 

 with prominent, long, anterodorsal and posteroventral 

 bristles, 5 in each row, and 6 to 10 short bristles in a 

 dorsal and posterior row. On the anterior pair are 

 some 10 short bristles anterodorsally and 5 long pos- 

 teroventral bristles, a like number of shorter posterior 

 bristles, and some very long bristly hairs vent rally. 

 Apex without process but with distinct, curved, not 

 twisted spine. Basitarsus without denticles and with 

 only fine pile. Claws sharp; pulvilli well developed, 

 wide apically ; empodium present. 



Wings : The wings are tinged with brown, elongate, 

 the marginal cell is widely open. The anterior branch 

 of the third vein ends above the wing apex, the fork 

 of the third vein begins far beyond the posterior cross 

 vein. All posterior cells are widely open, the fourth 

 and second only slightly narrowed ; the third posterior 

 cell is very widely open along the margin, fully twice 

 the width of the second ; the second posterior cell bulges 

 outward a little above and below. Middle end of the 

 second basal cell is almost absent. Anal cell narrowly 

 open ; alula short ; ambient vein complete. 



Abdomen : The abdomen is pollinose, with dark and 

 light pollen, and scanty, bristly, appressed pile, which 

 is a little longer on the sides of the first three tergites. 

 The abdomen is more or less subcylindrical with parallel 

 sides, or slightly clavate posteriorly; at its base it is 

 nearly or quite as wide as the mesonotum. The first 

 tergite has 6 to 8 long, slender bristles. Males with 

 seven tergites, the last three reduced in length. Epan- 

 drium not quite divided at the base, but with a very 

 wide, conspicuous, basally rounded cleft, becoming still 

 wider above the proctiger, each half is produced into a 

 long, blunt, dorsoventrally flared and rounded, flaplike 

 process nearly twice as long as the large convex gono- 

 pod. Hypandrium only moderately long but wide; 

 genital cavity open. No females were seen. 



Distribution: Neotropical: Aspidopyga cophuroides 

 Carrera (1949). 



Genus Cophura Osten Sacken 



Figures 149, 529, 1122, 1131, 1S31, 1854, 1981 



Blax Loew, Berliner Ent. Zeitschr., vol. 16, p. 65, 1872. Pre- 

 occupied, Coleoptera, 1SG0, and Coleoptera, 1863. Type of 

 genus : Blax heUus Loew, 1S72, by monotypy. 



Blacodes Loew, Berliner Ent. Zeitschr., vol. 18, p. 377, 1874. 

 Change of name. Preoccupied Coleoptera, 1859. 



Cophura Osten Sacken, in Biologia Centrali- Americana, Diptera, 



vol. 1, p. 181, 1887. Type of genus : Cophura sodalis Osten 



Sacken, 1887, by monotypy. 

 Loewiella Williston, Manual . . . North American Diptera, 



ed. 2, p. 57, 1896. Preoccupied Diptera, 1896. Unnecessary 



change of name. 



Cophura has 1 subgenus, BucJcellia Curran. 



Small flies of comparatively slender, cylindrical or 

 slightly tapered abdomen, which is frequently a little 

 widened near the middle or base and which tends to be 

 flattened. The surface is not punctulate. Marginal 

 and all posterior cells open, the anal cell usually open, 

 sometimes closed. The face is nearly plane in profile, 

 very slightly rounded, with transverse rows of bristles 

 confined to the epistomal margin, the upper portion of 

 the face at most with a few, scattered hairs. Sides of 

 face and front approximately parallel and rather wide. 

 Length 6 to 10 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect: The face is only slightly visible 

 in profile; it is not quite plane and tends to show a 

 slight curvature. The face is a little more prominent 

 below owing to the recession of the eye. Eye strongly 

 convex anteriorly, a little more narrow on the dorsal 

 half; the posterior profile is plane on the upper two- 

 thirds in the type of genus but convex in a few species. 

 The eye is distinctly though moderately recessive antero- 

 ventrally. Occiput prominent below, usually quite 

 plane in profile behind and very narrow through the 

 middle but in some species the occiput is thick and 

 prominent through the middle. Pile of occiput fine 

 and scanty. On the upper occiput the bristles vary 

 from 15 to 20 pairs; most of them are comparatively 

 weak and usually straight, the upper bristles of some 

 species tend to be curved forward. Proboscis distinctly 

 compressed laterally and from the upper profile tapered 

 to a rounded point; from a lateral profile it is plane 

 below but with rounded apex dorsally and with promi- 

 nent, medial ridge. Apex with fine pile especially be- 

 low and with some longer hairs on the basal half. The 

 proboscis tends to be directed obliquely forward and 

 is distinctly projected beyond the face. Palpus clearly 

 of two segments; first excavated, second porate, cylin- 

 drical, swollen in the middle, with fine, bristly hairs 

 close to but not at the apex. In some species the 

 palpal shape is suggestive of Sticlwpogon Loew. 



Antenna attached at the upper third of the head, 

 comparatively elongate and slender, the first two seg- 

 ments of nearly equal length. The third segment is 

 iy 2 times as long as the combined length of the first 

 two, with microsegments excluded. The third seg- 

 ment is slightly compressed laterally and carries two 

 microsegments, the first quite short, the second 4 or 5 

 times as long and held at an oblique angle with a short 

 spine at the apex. Pile of first segment composed of 3 

 to 6 stiff, moderately long bristles on the ventral sur- 

 face and a few, short, appressed, stiff hairs above. 

 Second segment with 1 to 2 long bristles below. 



Head, anterior aspect: The face below antenna is 

 a fourth the head width, slightly divergent below. 

 Subepistomal area prominent, rather deeply excavated 



