Subfamily Laphriinae 



The subfamily Laphriinae divides readily into the 

 larger flies of the tribe Laphriini and the Andreno- 

 somini on the one hand, and the smaller asilids of the 

 widespread Atomosini. The latter can be quickly rec- 

 ognized in almost every instance by the fully chitinized 

 arch behind the posterior coxae. They are especially at 



home in the American tropics but are also found more 

 sparingly in southern Asia, scarcely in Australia, south- 

 ern Africa and Asia Minor. They are absent from 

 Eurojje. 



There are no fossil flies known from any tribe in the 

 subfamily. 



Tribe Laphriini 



The Laphriini comprise a very successful group of 

 mostly forest-loving types of asilids. Only the genus 

 Laphria Meigen is large in terms of species. It is wide- 

 spread throughout the Holarctic region, but tends to 

 be replaced to a large extent in southern Asia and the 

 South Pacific by Maira Schiner, a brilliantly metallic 

 group of flies of comparatively bare aspect and reduced 

 pile. Also, more generally spread over Asia are the 

 subgenera Choerades Walker and Pagidolaphria Her- 

 mann. These ill-defined groups, Hermann (1914) calls 

 "verwandtshaftskreis," or related groups or series. 

 Probably both Anisosis Hermann and Orthogonis Her- 

 mann should be placed in the same category. In North 

 America Laphria is partly replaced by Bombomima 

 Enderlein and the metallic Lampria Macquart. Though 

 the species of Bomiomima have a characteristic ap- 

 pearance, they are separated from Laphria with diffi- 

 culty. Some of the American species of Laphria lack 

 pile or bristles on the metanotal callosity ; other species 

 have such pile and it is this group which cannot be satis- 

 factorily separated. All those species of European 

 Laphria with which the author is acquainted seem to 

 lack pile on the metanotal callosity. Carrera (1951) 

 has pointed out that the genus Laphria in the strict 

 sense does not occur in South America and is replaced 



by Smeryngolaphria Hermann, Alipiolaphria Carrera 

 and Ichneumolaphria Carrera. 



I restrict Pagidolaphria Hermann to those species 

 with a quite long proboscis in which the apex is nar- 

 rowed and upturned, or rounded below. Choerades 

 "Walker is more loosely defined, based as it is on the 

 relatively appressed pile of the thorax and abdomen, 

 the relative straightness of the anterior branch of the 

 third vein and the relative strength or density of the 

 terminal bristles arising from the apex of the dorsally 

 turned gonopod, which Hermann called the "forceps" ; 

 all of these characters vary widely. 



The curious and aberrant Nearctic fly Dasylechia 

 Williston is one of the rarest of all asilids and is rep- 

 resented by perhaps as few as 5 or 6 specimens in all 

 collections. I have seen several females but no males. 

 Some years past I collected a female trapped on the 

 window of a basement laboratory at Iowa State Col- 

 lege. Anypodetus Hermann, which is an Old World 

 group, constitutes yet another aberrant genus. 



Like Maira Schiner in the Asiatic tropics, Lampria 

 Macquart in the New World tropics has adopted a 

 metallic coloration. The flies of the genus Bonibomima 

 Enderlein are strongly suggestive of bumblebees. 



KEY TO GENERA OF LAPHRIINI 



1. The third antennal segment bears a distinct microsegment 



carrying an apical spine 2 



Third segment without microsegment. The third segment 

 ends with or without an apical pit, and with or without 

 an apical spine 4 



535914 — 62— pt. 1- 



-22 



Second palpal segment extraordinarily expanded, barrel- 

 like. Large, rare, bumblebee-like, phylogeront flies with 

 massive, very short proboscis ; convex face completely cov- 

 ered with dense, long, bristly pile. Claws stout, rather 

 blunt ; empodium massive and short. 



Dasylechia Williston 



319 



