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UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 2 24 



tudinally; its medial sides bear a few fiiie hairs; its 

 lateral sides along the eye bear slightly longer, equally 

 fine hairs. Vertex but little excavated, the ocellarium 

 is small and low with a quite slender, moderately long 

 bristle or bristly hair between the ocelli and 2 or 3 fine 

 hairs behind. Postvertex polished as far back as the 

 posterior eye margin. 



Thorax : The thorax is comparatively long and not 

 very high. The mesonotum is not high and is gently 

 convex from the anterior to the posterior margin. It 

 is rather densely covered with very fine, subappressed, 

 curled hairs, nowhere differentiated and the whole 

 surface including the humerus coarsely punctate. Lat- 

 eral bristles weak, slender and only moderately long; 

 there is 1 notopleural, 1 supraalar, 1 on the postalar cal- 

 losity, and a pair of small, weak, widely separated 

 bristles on the scutellar margin. Upper posterior meso- 

 pleuron with a long, slender, bristly hair. Surface of 

 the scutellum slightly convex and with the whole meso- 

 pleuron and upper third of sternopleuron coarsely and 

 conspicuously punctulate; however, there is a round, 

 polished anteroventral space on the mesopleuron with- 

 out punctures. Posterior border of the mesopleuron and 

 upper sternopleuron with a curious, sharp-edged, 

 smooth, circular, posteriorly sloping depression. Meta- 

 pleuron with 12 long, slender, bristly hairs. Pronotum 

 with 12 pairs of spikelike, yellow spines or spinous 

 bristles. Postmetacoxal area with a complete but short 

 chitinized arch; prosternum fully joined to lateral pro- 

 pleuron. 



Legs: The anterior four femora are but slightly 

 thickened, the hind femur plane below, is a little more 

 enlarged on the distal half than is usual in this tribe, 

 and not quite twice its basal thickness. Most of the 

 swelling is concentrated at the outer third. Hind tibia 

 distinctly more stout throughout than the other tibiae, 

 though quite narrow at the base. The hind femur bears 

 ventrolaterally at the outer third 1 weak, slender, pale 

 bristle and a few, fine, moderately long, ventral hairs, 

 and a rather conspicuous ventromedial fringe of erect, 

 rather long hairs. A similar fringe extends over the 

 ventral surface of the hind tibia. Hind tibia with 2 

 somewhat more stout, pale, lateral bristles and 4 ven- 

 trolateral bristles. The bristles of the apical circlet are 

 subapical. Anterior and middle femur only with scat- 

 tered, fine, erect, long hairs ventrally. Middle tibia 

 with 5 moderately long, anterior bristles, and 5 short 

 posterior bristles, and both sets of bristles weak; 

 there are also 3 short, ventral bristles. Anterior 

 tibia with 5 short, weak, anterodorsal bristles, 4 pos- 

 terior bristles, the distal element stronger, 1 conspicuous 

 but slender basal, posteroventral bristle and 3 distal, 

 ventral bristles. Second and remaining tarsal segments 

 quite slender. On the hind tarsus the first and second 

 segments are both somewhat swollen. Claws fine, sharp, 

 bent at the apex ; pulvilli well developed ; the empodium 

 stout. 



Wings: The wings are faintly tinged with brown 

 along the middle and almost wholly villose and broad. 

 Marginal cell closed with a moderately long stalk, 



second submarginal cell is rather wide basally and 

 entirely widened in front of the third vein. The an- 

 terior branch of the third vein ends barely before the 

 wing apex, the posterior branch ends at a considerable 

 distance behind, so that the enclosed cell is considerably 

 flared; the first posterior cell, however, is only slightly 

 narrowed; the fourth is closed with a short stalk, the 

 anal cell is closed and stalked. Posterior crossvein 

 wanting. The discal cell is considerably shorter than 

 the fourth posterior cell, the former is therefore closed 

 by one vein. Alula small ; the ambient vein ends with 

 the second posterior cell. 



Abdomen: The abdomen is comparatively broad, as 

 wide as the thorax with approximately parallel sides at 

 the end of the fourth segment. Last 2 segments some- 

 what narrowed but obtuse at apex. The triangular 

 sixth segment is as long as the fifth and is strongly 

 cupped downward and even anteriorly beneath on the 

 ventral surface. The whole surface of the abdomen is 

 coarsely punctulate and bears minute, fine, appressed 

 setate pile. Lateral marginal pile of tergites very little 

 longer. Sides of first segment with 3 short, spikelike 

 tuberculate bristles. Middle of lateral margin of 

 second segment with 1 minute, spikelike bristle. Ter- 

 minalia are small, similar to Atomosia Macquart and 

 deeply recessed. 



Distribution : Neotropical : IJodites punctissima, new 

 species. 



Hodites punctissima, new species 



Length 10 mm. including antenna. Female. Head : 

 The head is polished black, the face densely, silvery 

 white, appressed micropubescent. The pile is white, 

 the few bristles of the mystax are black with a tuft of 

 short, blackish hairs medially on the epistomal margin. 

 Front more thinly silvery or greyish white pollinose, 

 the pile white, the low, small, ocellar tubercle with a 

 single yellowish white, slender bristle and behind the 

 ocelli 2 or 3 pairs of short, fine, white hairs. Bristles 

 of occiput widely spaced, short, stout dorsally, nearly 

 white, continued down over the ventral portion of the 

 occiput and also across the lower border of the occiput 

 beliind the proboscis, where they are comparatively 

 stout. Lower occiput with at most a few, fine, white 

 hairs. Antenna with the first segment black and with 

 rather numerous, black setae both above and below, and 

 a single long, white bristle ventrally near the middle. 

 This segment is nearly 3 times as long as the second seg- 

 ment, which is medium brown with black setae. Third 

 segment is brown on the extreme base, black over most 

 of the whole segment, with dark brown and excep- 

 tionally short micropubescence. Apex of second seg- 

 ment rather flat and strongly truncate and broad. 



Thorax : The thorax is quite black, moderately shin- 

 ing, strongly and coarsely punctured; the punctured 

 area includes the anterior margin, the whole humerus, 

 the whole disc of scutellum, the whole mesonotum with 

 its side margins and the postalar callosity except the 

 hinder portion of this callosity, the whole of the meso- 

 pleuron except a small anterior area, and the upper 



