LAPHRIXNAB 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



409 



the ambient vein ends at the end of the second posterior 

 cell. 



Abdomen : The abdomen is coarsely punctulate ; nor- 

 mally, slightly more narrow on the basal tergite than 

 thorax. Each tergite is slightly widened to the end of 

 the fifth. The fourth to seventh tergites are more 

 strongly convex; the seventh tergite is slightly wider 

 than thorax. The sides of the first tergite bear a ver- 

 tical row of rather long, moderately stout, pale bristles. 

 Middle of second tergite laterally with or without 

 moderately pale, long bristles and a fringe of long, 

 white hairs. The remaining tergites have, fringe of 

 long, white hairs without a middle bristle but there is 

 1 slightly longer, slightly stiffened, pale bristle in the 

 posterior corner of the fifth, sixth and seventh tergites. 

 Seven tergites are present, the seventh considerably 

 shorter than the sixth. The last two tergites are cupped 

 downward obscuring the minute, male or female 

 terminal ia. 



Distribution : Neotropical : Oidardis gibbosa Her- 

 mann (1912) ; aenescens Hermann (1912). 



Genus Automolina Hermann 



Figures 262, 667, 1327, 1335 



Automolina Hermann, Nova Acta Acad. Caes. Leop.-Carol., vol. 

 96, p. 101, 1912. Type of genus: Automolina chilensis 

 Hermann, 1912, by original designation. 



Small, black, robust flies characterized by the dense, 

 fine, short, usually pale, matted or flat-appressed setate 

 pile in males; females without matted pile, but shining 

 with scanty, scattered, semierect, mesonotal hairs and 

 short, suberect, more dense, dark abdominal setae. 

 Characteristically, the face has rather numerous long, 

 slender bristles and bristly hairs directed straight out- 

 ward on both the plane upper face and the gentle, low, 

 ventral gibbosity. First antennal segment short and 

 third segment only about twice the length of the first 

 two and obliquely truncate at the wide apex. These 

 flies suggest Ewnecosoma Schiner in general appearance 

 but are more robust with abundant face pile and dif- 

 ferent antenna and with shorter, wider, flatter abdomen. 

 In Lamprozona Loew the third antennal segment is 

 longer and distally attenuate with unmodified apex and 

 its proboscis is even smaller. Length 7 to 10 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The head is short and the face 

 is slightly visible on the upper part but more prominent 

 below due to posterior recession of the eye. The upper 

 occiput bears on each side a deep, sublateral row of 6 

 or 7 long, stout, brownish yellow bristles ; the posterior 

 profile of the eye is almost plane but is oblique, due to 

 the gradual recession of the eye, leaving the lower occi- 

 put prominent. The proboscis is quite short, cylindri- 

 cal, obliquely truncate at the apex and directed obliquely 

 downward. Falpus minute. The antenna has the first 

 two segments short and of nearly equal length ; the sec- 

 ond segment is monilliform, with 1 or more long, stout, 

 black bristles ventrolaterally. The third segment is 

 slender basally for a short distance, then expands to near 



the apex. The apex has a dorsovent rally flattened, 

 apical, scooplike extension forming a separate subsep- 

 ment and lying some distance back from the bowllike 

 opening is a blunt spine. 



Head, anterior aspect: The face is less than one-fifth 

 the head width, the sides are parallel. The upper face 

 has 2 long and 2 adjacent, short, fine, black bristles and 

 below near the eye margin 2 almost equally long, fine 

 hairs followed by 2 shorter hairs. The low, ventral 

 protuberance of the face bears a medial pair of long, 

 weak, anteriorly directed bristles; on each side still 

 lower there are approximately 16 short, black bristles. 

 The vertex is strongly excavated. The ocellar pro 

 tuberance is high with abrupt sides and bears anteriorly 

 a pair of quite long, stout bristles; it also bears on each 

 side a pair of almost equally long, slender, divergent 

 bristles and an additional similar pair between the pos 

 terior ocelli; all these bristles are black. 



Thorax: The mesonotum is slightly convex and 

 densely short, appressed pilose; there are present 2 nar- 

 row, submedial, partly bare stripes and the Bupraalar 

 region and much of the metapleural region are chiefly 

 bare. Humerus large, rather flat and with flat ap- 

 pressed pile. All the mesonotal pile is flat appressed. 

 Weak, long, slender bristles are present and consist of 



1 notopleural, 1 supraalar, 1 postalar and the scutellar 

 margin with 2 pairs; the prescutellar area has 8 to K> 

 fine, long hairs. The anterior half of the mesonotum 

 bears a few, fine, long, scattered hairs. Mesopleuron 

 with fine, long pile dorsally and a few, fine hairs in the 

 middle posteriorly. The greater part vent rally and 

 posteriorly is bare, as well as the upper anterior sterno- 

 pleuron. Hypopleuron with a few, long hairs. Met a 

 pleuron with a vertical band of extremely long, fanlike, 

 fine, apically curved pile. The metanotal slopes are 

 pilose with numerous hairs. Lateral metasternuin 

 densely fine pilose; postmetacoxal area chitinized. 

 Prosternum not dissociated. 



Legs: The hind femur is stout but not greatly thick- 

 ened. At the apex is a pair of long slender, black, 

 dorsal bristles; the more medial element has an addi- 

 tional, long, slender bristle behind it. The dorsal mar- 

 gin sublaterally has a row of 3 moderately stiif, black 

 bristles. Lateral margin with 3 equally long, similar 

 bristles confined to the outer half. Ventral margin 

 with long, fine, abundant, erect, pale pile and with 

 3 long, slender, erect, pale bristles. Hind tibia with a 

 long, erect, ventral band of pile which at the apex is 

 replaced by a mat of flat appressed, dense, coarse pile. 

 The bristles consist of 4 long, slender, dorsal elements, 



2 longer, stout, lateral bristles besides 1 short, subdorsal 

 bristle at the basal sixth. Ventrally there are 4 ex- 

 tremely long, slender, slightly oblique, apically, curved, 

 black bristles and ventrolaterally about 5 much shorter, 

 stiff, black hairs; the ventral fringe is yellow. The 

 apex bears 2 stout, ventrolateral, 1 lateral, and 2 medial 

 bristles. First tarsal segment nearly twice as long as 

 the second ; the first and second segments bear 3 excep- 

 tionally long, stout, apical bristles. The middle femur 

 has 2 bristles anterodorsally, 1 posterodorsally near 



