270 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



fine and suberect in the type of genus, which bears on 

 the postlateral margin of the first tergite 5 distinct and 

 rather stout bristles. The first sternite apilose. In 

 other species the abdominal pile appears to be a little 

 longer and more abundant and especially longer on the 

 sides of the second tergite. In the male seven tergites 

 present, the seventh three-fourths as long as the sixth. 

 In the female there are eight tergites, the eighth two- 

 thirds as long as the seventh. Male terminalia mod- 

 erately large and conspicuous, rotate one-half; hypan- 

 drium undivided. The epandrium is undivided in the 

 type of genus. In Cophura acapulcae both the epan- 

 drium and the hypandrium are divided into two 

 pieces but it appears also rotate at least three-eighths. 

 Female terminalia with 5 pairs of rather stout, spoon- 

 like lateral spines. Last sternite depressed and sulcate 

 apically. 



Distribution: Nearctic: Cophura albosetosa Hine 

 (1908) ; ameles Pritchard (1943) ; arizonensis Schaeffer 

 (1916) [=drakei Pritchard (1935)]; bella Loew 

 (1872) ; brevicornis Williston (1884), brevicornis mela- 

 nochaeta Melander (1923) ; caca Pritchard (1943) ; 

 clausa Coquillett (1893) ; dora Pritchard (1943) ; fur 

 Williston (1885) ; hennei Wilcox and Martin (1945) ; 

 hesperia Pritchard (1935) ; lutzi Curran (1931), lutzi 

 wilcoxi Pritchard (1935) ; painteri Pritchard (1943) ; 

 pollinosa Curran (1930) ; scitula Williston (1884) ; 

 sculleni Wilcox (1937) ; stylosa Curran (1931) ; texana 

 Bromley (1934); truncus Coquillett (1893) [ = high- 

 landica Cole (1916)] ; vera Pritchard (1935) ; vitripen- 

 nis Curran (1927). 



Neotropical: Cophura acapulcae Pritchard (1943); 

 apatma Pritchard (1943) ; atypha Pritchard (1943) ; 

 calla Pritchard (1943) ; cora Pritchard (1943) ; daphne 

 Pritchard (1943); humilis Bellardi (1861); igualae 

 Pritchard (1943); nephressa Pritchard (1943); picta 

 Carrera (1955); pulchella Williston (1901); sodalis 

 Osten Sacken (1887) ; sundra Pritchard (1943) ; wil- 

 listoni Pritchard (1943) [ = humilis Williston (1901) 

 not Bellardi] ; zandra Pritchard (1943) . 



Subgenus Buckellia Curran 



Buckellia Curran, Canadian Ent, vol. 57, p. 156, 1925. Type 

 of subgenus: Cophura albosetosa Hine, 1908, by original 

 designation. 



Pritchard (1943) in an excellent treatment of Cop- 

 hura Osten Sacken has discussed at length the rela- 

 tionship of the numerous, diverse groups within that 

 genus, and has wisely, it seems to me, refrained from 

 elevating these groups to generic rank, because of the 

 overlapping character of these groups. Buckellia 

 Curran is the only name that has been proposed for 

 one of these groups and includes, besides Cophura al- 

 bosetosa Hine on which it was founded, Cophura 

 scitula Williston, 1884 (originally described as Wico- 

 cles scitula Williston), and Cophura vitripennis Cur- 

 ran, 1927. In this group of species the face is distinctly 

 and evenly convex and recedes orally, a characteristic 

 which Pritchard has noted, is similar to the species 



of the Cophura brevicornis group. The flies of the 

 Cophura albosetosa group have a shining black ab- 

 domen, dorsally convex, marked only with postero- 

 lateral gray pollinose spots; they have a rather 

 pronounced general similarity in appearance to some 

 species of Cyrtopogon Loew. 



Genus Taracticus Loew 



Figubes 178, 571, 594, 1125, 1134, 1694, 1988 



Taracticus Loew, Berliner Ent. Zeitschr., vol. 16, p. 64, 1872. 



Type of genus: Dioctria octopunctata Say, 1823, by 



monotypy. 

 Dioctrodes Coquillett, Proc. Ent. Soe. Washington, vol. 6, p. 



181, 1904. Type of genus: Dioctrodes flavipes CoquiUett, 



1904, by original designation. 



Rather small flies with convex, cylindroid abdomen 

 and granulate surface rather than punctulate. The 

 antenna is exceptionally long and slender, especially 

 the third segment, which bears long micropubescence 

 and has dorsally near the middle a distinct, spine-bear- 

 ing notch. The face has epistomal bristles but very 

 little pile in the type of genus. Li some species the 

 bristles spread over at least three-fourths of the face. 

 Hind femur characteristically with 2 exceptionally 

 long, ventral subbasal bristles set not far apart. The 

 anterior tibia bears a small, curved spine proceeding 

 from a slight lobe. Length 8 to 14 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect: The face is extremely short in 

 profile in the type of genus, and nearly plane. In 

 many species the face is still short but is gently convex. 

 Rarely it is considerably more prominent and still more 

 convex. The eye is rather short and high, equally 

 developed above and below and almost equally convex 

 anteriorly and posteriorly. The occiput is prominent 

 but only towards the medial area, from which it gradu- 

 ally increases in thickness from the eye margin. The 

 pile of the occiput is coarse, scanty and moderately 

 long on the lower fifth, above which there is a single 

 row of 9 pairs of fine subocular bristles along the mid- 

 dle occiput, followed by 5 pairs of somewhat more 

 stout, short bristles on the upper portion of the occi- 

 put and 2 fine, short bristles behind the vertex ; these 

 postvertical bristles seem to remain quite delicate in 

 all species. Proboscis short, subcylindrical, slightly 

 compressed laterally towards the apex, and from dorsal 

 aspect slightly widened towards the base. The apex 

 is bluntly rounded with rather abundant, fine pile ven- 

 trally on the outer third and some long hairs ventrally 

 at the base. The medial ridge is low. Palpus clearly 

 of two segments; the first segment is excavated, the 

 second is comparatively short, robust, cylindrical, a 

 little tapered towards the apex with large apical pore. 

 In the type of genus there are only a few subapical 

 bristles. 



Head, anterior aspect: The face below the antenna 

 is a fourth of the head width and slightly divergent 

 below. Subepistomal region moderately large, nearly 

 plane, chiefly oblique and nearly bare or sometimes 



