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UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 22 4 



liairs; lateral bristles are moderately well developed 

 and consist of 1 notopleural, 4 to 6 supraalar, 1 on 

 the postalar callosity, and 1 pair on the scutellum. 

 The scutellum is not quite flat, pollinose, without pile, 

 and transversely wrinkled. Metanotal callosities pu- 

 bescent only. Pleuron densely micropubescent or pol- 

 linose with a vertical band of fine pile on the 

 mesopleuron and sternopleuron situated posteriorly. 

 The neck is unusually long; pronotum with fine hairs. 

 Metapleuron with 3 or 4 quite slender bristles, post- 

 metacoxal area membranous; lateral metasternum 

 with long pile; presternum fully dissociated. 



Legs: The legs are polished and rather bare, with 

 quite scanty, fine, appressed setae ; they are often pale 

 with black bands. The hindlegs are somewhat longer, 

 the hind femur distinctly swollen distally and bearing 

 4 lateral bristles and at the apex 1 dorsolateral and 

 dorsomedial bristle. Hind tibia with 3 stout dorso- 

 lateral, 4 similar dorsomedial bristles and 2 antero- 

 ventral bristles confined to the outer half. Ventral 

 surface with ranked setae on the distal half. Hind 

 basitarsus not stout, perhaps not quite as long as the 

 next three segments. Middle femur has 2 anterior 

 bristles, 1 longer posterodorsal bristle near the apex, 

 and at the apex on each side a minute bristle. This 

 tibia bears 2 quite conspicuous, long anterior, 4 pos- 

 terior, and on the distal half 2 spikelike, long, ventral 

 bristles. Anterior femur with a posterodorsal bristle 

 near the apex and anteriorly 2 small apical bristles; 

 its tibia bears 5 quite short anterodorsal, 4 almost 

 equally short posterodorsal, and 2 long, distal, postero- 

 ventral bristles. Apex with a posteroventral, stout, 

 slightly curved spine without protuberance; the basitar- 

 sus has denticles. Claws slender, sharp; pulvilli well 

 developed; empodium fine, short, quite swollen at the 

 base. 



Wings : The wings are tinged with brown, marginal 

 cell widely open, the furcation of the third vein well 

 beyond the discal cell, and the basal expansion of the 

 second submarginal cell lies above and below the third 

 vein equally. Posterior crossvein long, all posterior 

 cells maximally open, anal cell open. Alula narrow, 

 ambient vein complete. 



Abdomen : The abdomen is moderately broad, and at 

 the base nearly or quite as wide as the mesonotum and 

 slightly clavate, so that the third and fourth segments 

 are a little wider. Third segment with a prominent, 

 subbasal crease on the basal third. On the sides of the 

 first segment are 3 stout spines, and near the end of the 

 second are 1 or 2 stout bristles or weak spines lat- 

 erally. Abdomen usually orange and black or wholly 

 black and sparsely covered with appressed setae arising 

 from microtubercles. Males with seven tergites, the 

 seventh much shorter than the sixth. Females with 

 eight tergites, the eighth half as long as the seventh. 

 Male terminalia partly rotate, the epandrium is quite 

 simple, undivided, the hypandrium large, and the gono- 

 pod also prominent with toothed, apical processes. 

 Proctiger conical. Female with acanthophorites and 

 6 or 7 pairs of rather small, blunt spines, besides some 



spinous bristles ventrally. Eighth sternite with a nar- 

 row, posterior cleft, the whole plate flat. 



Distribution : Australian : Austrosaropogon claviger 

 Hardy (1934) ; nicholsoni, new species. 



of 



Daptolestes, new subgenus 



subgenus: Daptolestes nicholsoni, new 



Type 

 species. 



Medium size flies related to Austrosaropogon Hardy 

 and like this genus with a pronounced concavity across 

 the middle of the face. The abdomen is capitate, with a 

 strong, basal constriction; scutellum with only slender, 

 stiffened hairs. Length 12 to 16 mm. 



Daptolestes nicholsoni, new species 



Length 12 to 17 mm. Male, female. 



Head : The head is dark, reddish brown ; most of the 

 front, except for the medial portion, with golden yellow, 

 coarse, appressed, rather long micropubescence. There 

 is a similar stripe of such pubescence along the sides 

 of the eye margin on the face and above, extending 

 medially inward to nearly reach across the upper margin 

 of the epistoma and ventrally to cover the greater part 

 of the cheeks ; otherwise the face is bare and dark, shin- 

 ing red. There is similar, coarse, golden pubescence on 

 the occiput. The postvertex, which appears bare and 

 black, is also covered with such pubescence but more 

 thinly. Pile of the front, vertex and face scanty, quite 

 fine, erect and yellow, except for a few, scattered, black 

 hairs. Mystax composed of 1 row of long, stout, pale 

 yellow bristles. Proboscis and the very large palpus 

 reddish brown. The former with yellow pile, except 

 for 3 or 4 black hairs, the latter with yellow pile on the 

 first segment and numerous, long, coarse, black, bristly 

 hairs on the second. The second segment dorsally has 

 a very large, flat, oval spot without pile, but with very 

 fine micropubescence. Antenna with the first two seg- 

 ments reddish brown, the third similarly colored, be- 

 coming very slightly paler distally. In the middle the 

 third segment is distinctly wider than the first, the 

 microsegment is a little longer than wide with pale 

 yellow, dorsal spine. Bristles on the upper occiput 

 numerous, stout and black. 



Thorax : The thorax is light, reddish brown. There 

 is an obscure blackish spot on each side of the mesono- 

 tum before and behind the suture. Mesonotum covered 

 with very thin, minute, completely flattened micro- 

 pubescence which is brownish yellow; there is a dense 

 band of more coarse, golden micropubescence above 

 the wing and behind the suture, another posteriorly 

 and laterally on the projfleuron, a vertical stripe extend- 

 ing down the mesopleuron a short distance from the 

 posterior margin, and an additional stripe posteriorly 

 on the hypopleuron, besides a spot on the bulging cal- 

 losity of the metanotum. Halteres pale, sulphur 

 yellow. 



Legs : The femora are reddish brown, all pairs with 

 indistinct, blackish, ventral stripe, the tarsi and the 

 distal half of all the tibiae likewise reddish brown. 



