LAPHRIINAE 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



389 



tergites without bristles. The scattered hairs on the 

 sides of the second and third tergites are rather long 

 and fine. Middle of the sides of the seventh tergite 

 with 2 or 3 moderately long, black, bristly hairs. There 

 are six tergites almost equally developed, the seventh 

 very short. The female terminalia are minute and 

 scarcely protrude beyond the seventh tergite. 



Distribution: Neotropical: Hybozelodes acuticornis 

 Carrera (1945) ; albipes Hermann (1912) ; nigellus 

 Hermann (1912) ; platycerus Hermann (1912). 



Genus Lophoceraea Hermann 



Figures 263, 678, 1326, 1336 



Lophoceraea Hermann, Nora Acta Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol., 

 vol. 96, p. 193, 1912. Type of genus: Lophoceraea pennata 

 Hermann, 1912, by original designation. 



Small, dark colored flies which suggest Atractla Mac- 

 quart in general appearance. The third antenna! seg- 

 ment is rather similar but is more slender and sub- 

 plumose beginning at the dorsal spine on the outer 

 third ; the apex bears a plumose, short style instead of a 

 microsegment. The end veins of the discal and fourth 

 posterior cells are aligned. The face is exposed laterally 

 only below, and it is short even at the lowest point; the 

 face is narrow with nearly parallel sides, a few fine 

 hairs and 3 pairs of long, slender bristles arranged 

 ventrally but also vertically. Length 6 to 8 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The head is of moderate length 

 and strongly convex anteriorly ; the upper half of the 

 posterior aspect is nearly plane, the lower half slightly 

 recessive. The face in profile does not extend beyond 

 the eye, except for very slight elevation below. The oc- 

 ciput is narrowly visible throughout most of its length ; 

 there is a row of 8 slender, pale bristles on the upper 

 half placed deeply submargmal. Proboscis relatively 

 short, basally swollen and cylindrical, with pilose, ob- 

 tusely rounded apex; it is directed almost straight 

 downward. Palpus minute, cylindrical, bearing long 

 bristles at the apex. The antenna is slender; the first 

 segment is barely longer than the second and bears a 

 long, strong, black, oblique bristle below in the middle, 

 and a short, dorsal, apical bristle ; the second segment is 

 beadlike with a long dorsal and short apical bristle and 

 below 2 short and 2 medium long, black bristles. The 

 third segment is at least twice as long as the first two 

 segments and gradually widened at the base; and be- 

 yond the base it is of uniform width ; in the middle it 

 bears a dorsal incision and spine and at the apex there 

 is attached a long, tapered style which is short plumose; 

 this style is nearly as long as the main part of the third 

 segment. The apex of the third segment to which the 

 style is joined ends obliquely and bears medially a long, 

 oval, scooped-out depression just before the apex. 



Head, anterior aspect : The face is unusually narrow, 

 densely micropubescent with a few, short, delicate hairs 

 on the upper three-fourths. There is a medial pair of 

 bristles and below these elements there is a group of 3 

 submedial bristles and still lower there are submedial, 



pale, long, slender bristles. The vertex is deeply exca- 

 vated; the ocellar protuberance high with vertical sides 

 and bearing a pair of long, stout, black, divergent bris- 

 tles which are curved backward. Anterior eye facets 

 slightly enlarged. 



Thorax: The mesonotum is short, appressed pilose 

 throughout with a few, longer hairs along the anterior 

 margin and along the humerus. Humerus large, shal- 

 lowly convex and distinctly fused posteriorly and medi- 

 ally with no line of demarcation. The mesonotum has 

 long, black, rather stout bristles which consist of 1 noto- 

 pleural, 1 supraalar, 2 postalar, and 2 pairs of especially 

 stout, long scutellar bristles. Scutellum convex and 

 pubescent with a few scattered hairs. Mesopleuron 

 with 2 bristles of which 1 is short, 1 is long and stout. 

 Hypopleuron with long and short pubescence and 2 or 

 3 long hairs. Metapleuron with a vertical, double row 

 of 10 to 12 long, fanlike, downward curved, slender 

 bristles. Metanotal slopes with numerous long hairs. 



Legs: The hind femur is distinctly but slightly 

 thickened toward the outer half and bears a dorsal row 

 of fine, rather long, weak, pale bristles ; the longest ele- 

 ments are near the middle; also there are 3 apical dorso- 

 medial bristles in a row and with a lateral row of 10 

 short, fine, weak bristles, except that 1 of these just be- 

 yond the middle is long and stout, reddish yellow and 

 microtuberculate. Below, this femur has a row of 5 or 

 6 long, fine, pale hairs and ventromedially it has 3 ex- 

 traordinarily long, pale, bristly hairs of increasing 

 length from the base ; the element in the middle of the 

 femur is longest. In addition there is also long, erect, 

 scanty pile ventrally consisting of 30 to 40 hairs. Hind 

 tibia with some long pile ventrally which is more abun- 

 dant beyond the middle and which is distinctly oblique; 

 the bristles consist of 3 extremely long, pale, slender 

 bristles which are curved outward on the apical half; 

 dorsal bristles are 3 short, basal elements and 2 quite 

 long, slender, distal elements. Laterally there are 2 

 very long bristles and 2 longer, stouter, curved, oblique, 

 yellow, lateral bristles. Middle femur with 3 dorsal 

 bristles and 1 anterior bristle at the outer fifth and 7 

 long, slender, erect hairs ventrally. Middle tibia with 

 3 exceedingly long, oblique, anterodorsal and 3 antero- 

 ventral bristles. Anterior femur with 3 dorsal and 

 dorsomedial bristles near the apex ; its tibia has 5 or 6 

 short, dark brown bristles dorsally and 3 extremely 

 long, fine, yellow bristles posteroventrally. First and 

 second tarsal segments with only moderately long bris- 

 tles at apex anteriorly and posteriorly and with a 

 shorter pair above; the basitarsus has a long, posterior 

 bristle at the base. Claws sharp, the pulvilli nearly as 

 long as claw, empodium as long as claw and swollen at 

 the base. 



Wings : The marginal and fourth posterior cells each 

 closed with a moderately long stalk; anal cell closed, 

 the stalk evanescent. The veins closing the discal and 

 fourth posterior cells are confluent. Alula narrow; 

 the ambient vein ends at the end of the second posterior 

 cell. 



