LAPHRIINAE 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



Proboscis short, subcylindrical, rather robust or some- 

 times slender; it extends a short distance beyond the 

 face; the apex is obtusely rounded or truncate ventro- 

 apically. Apex of proboscis with some short, still' 

 hairs continued ventrally; the base below also with a 

 few long hairs. Palpus small, clearly of two segments ; 

 the first excavated, with fine, long, ventral hairs, the 

 second stout basally or slender and cylindrical; the 

 basal segment may be rather swollen and bowllike. 

 Second segment with a number of quite stiff, long hairs 

 ventrally and laterally extending almost to t lie apex. 



Antenna attached at the upper fourth of the head; 

 the first two segments are comparatively short, the 

 third segment elongate, wider and laterally compressed, 

 a little narrowed at the immediate apex" and slightly 

 tapered towards the base. At its apex it bears a minute 

 unconcealed spine. First segment with several short, 

 stiff, ventral and lateral setae and a pair of Ion-, 

 slender bristles; second segment with an almost com- 

 plete circlet of 10 to 15 moderately long, sharp setae. 

 Head, anterior aspect: The face below the antenna is 

 a fourth the head width, narrowed in the middle and 

 divergent below at the epistoma. The front is ex- 

 panded at the vertex. Subepistomal area compara- 

 tively small, slightly, oblique, concave and pubescent. 

 Face pubescent, with 10 to 12 moderately long, bristly 

 hairs on each side of the upper face. On the lower 

 two-fifths of the face is a rather dense mat of moder- 

 ately long, stout, golden bristles with 5 or 6 long bristles 

 down the sides of the subepistomal margin; or maybe 

 only 2 pairs of epistomal bristles and 2 pairs of longer 

 bristles lying across the lower margin of the face. The 

 mat of somewhat flattened pile is very much shorter 

 and flattened only in some species. The front is short, 

 minutely pubescent with 4 to 6 short, bristly hairs 

 along the eye margin. Vertex moderately excavated 

 but with gently sloping sides; the ocellarium quite 

 large and high, with nearly vertical sides, large ocelli 

 and a pair of quite stout, long bristles between and 

 with 1 or 2 pairs of additional short, slender, bristly 

 hairs. Anterior eye facets greatly flattened medially 

 and enlarged. 



Thorax : The thorax everywhere minutely appressed 

 pubescent. Pile of mesonotum abundant, rather long 

 and bristly. Acrostical elements undifferentiated; 

 dorsocentral elements very poorly differentiated even 

 posteriorly ; the lateral bristles consist of 1 or 2 noto- 

 pleural, 2 or 3 supraalar, 2 postalar, and 2 pairs of scu- 

 tellar. Disc of scutellnm only a little thickened and 

 convex, pubescent with 10 to 12 bristly hairs on each 

 side. Propleuron with some stiff, ventral, bristly pile 

 among which are some slender bristles intermixed. Pro- 

 notum with a row of 5 or 6 pairs of slender bristles, 

 posteriorly with numerous, long, bristly hairs. Meso- 

 pleuron near the middle of the posterior border with 3 

 exceptionally long, rather stout bristles. Metapleuron 

 with a double, irregular row of 8 to 10 quite long, com- 

 paratively stout bristles with some other bristly pile. 

 Lateral slopes of the metanotum with 5 or 6 rather long 

 bristles and some additional pile. Lateral metasternum 



413 



and ventral metasternum with some comparatively 

 short, fine pile. Postmetacoxal area wide and distinctly 

 membranous, only narrowly encroached laterally te-r- 

 ula with 3 or 4 setae. 



Legs: The femora are comparatively stout, especially 

 the hind pair; the tibiae are also somewhat thickened 

 distally. Dorsal pile is abundant, appressed and setate 

 The following complement of bristles may be present 

 on the hind femur: 6 or 7 Ion- bristly, ventromedial 

 hairs, some of the basal elements doubled or with ventral 

 counterparts; 2 or 3 subdorsal, weak, slender, aubapical 

 bristly hairs. The bind tibia has I or 5 long, slender. 

 dorsomedial, bristly hairs, and also 3 long, rather stout 

 dorsolateral bristles and 2 additional bristles near the 

 base, besides 3 or 4 slender ventrolateral bristles and 

 5 or 6 ventral, bristly hairs. The ventral surface of 

 both hind femur and tibia bears only very scanty, erect, 

 shorter pile. The copious ventral fringe present in re 

 lated genera is either absent or poorly developed and 

 only on femora. Tibia with a rather well developed 

 brush of setae ventrally on the distal half or third. 

 Middle femur with some long bristly hairs ventrally, 

 especially at the base. .Middle tibia of nearly uniform 

 thickness, with 5 comparatively short posterodorsal 

 bristles and 2 exceptionally long anterodorsal bristles 

 which are rather stout, basally tuberculate, distally at- 

 tenuate, and are as long as the first four tarsal segments 

 together. Posterovent rally are 4 long, slender bristle-. 

 2 ventral, distal bristles, and 1 very long anterior, bs 

 bristle. Anterior femur and tarsus rather similar to 

 middle ones. The hind tarsus ends in exceptionally 

 arched, hooklike claws, thick apically but sharply 

 pointed, with large pulvilli and long, exceptionally 

 sharply pointed, with large pulvilli and Ion- excep- 

 tionally bladelike empodium swollen at the base. 



Wings: The marginal cell closed with a long stalk: 

 the second submarginal cell is long, originating at the 

 end of the discal cell and only moderately expanded 

 distally. The discal cell ends in two veins of equal 

 length. The first posterior cell is widely open, at most 

 slightly narrowed at the margin. Fourth posterior cell 

 closed with a short stalk. Anal cell closed and stalked. 

 Second basal cell ends in three veins, the middle vein 

 short. Alula slightly wider than the costal cell. Am- 

 bient vein complete. 



Abdomen: The abdomen is as wide as the thorax; 

 sometimes with the second and third tergites very 

 slightly narrowed leaving the fourth and fifth seg- 

 ments a very little wider than the basal ones. Pile 

 abundant, short and suberect. Sides of the first ter- 

 gite with 5 or 6 slender bristles. Lateral margins often 

 with rather stiff, bristly pile but definite tergal bristles 

 lacking. .Males with six tergites. Male terminalia con- 

 spicuous, rather elongate, There is a comparatively 

 large, dorsal bulblike epandrinm, leaving the true ven- 

 tral aspect open. Gonopod with a sharp, pointed, 

 downturned subrectangular hook. 



Distribution: Australian: Cenochromyia bipars 

 Walker (1861); guttata Hermann (1012): tripars 

 Walker (18G1); xanthogaster Hermann (1912). 



