LAPHRIINAE 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



417 



Genus Adelodus Hermann 



Figubes 254, 676, 1254, 1263, 1810 



Adelodus Hermann, Nova Acta Acad. Caes, Leop.-Carol., vol. 96, 

 p. 124, 1912. Type of genus: Adelodus ruflpes Hermann, 

 1912, by original designation. 



Flies with short, broad head, and very short, nearly 

 plane face only slightly more extensive below, due to the 

 eye recession ; proboscis short, cylindrical and truncate. 

 Vertex wider than front or face and deeply excavated ; 

 from behind it is flared and excavated ; the ocellar pro- 

 tuberance is small but high with a pair of quite long 

 bristles. Third antennal segment elongate, narrowed 

 at base and apex and without incision or spine. Pile 

 of mesonotum rather dense, curled and appressed setate 

 with a few longer hairs; mesopleuron with 2 bristles. 

 Scutellum with a fanlike row of 10 or 12 long, slender, 

 marginal bristles. All femora stout and somewhat 

 swollen. Ventral and lateral bristles of hind femur 

 tuberculate. Prosternum not dissociated. Postmeta- 

 coxal area with a long, stout arch of chitin. Abdomen 

 rather elongate with the posterior comers rounded and 

 imbricate, giving a marked corrugate appearance. 

 First five tergites each with 1 long, stout, lateral, pale 

 bristle and each with about 10 long, pale, bristly hairs. 

 Male terminalia fully rotate, with a conspicuous, con- 

 vex, oval, epandrial bulb placed in a ventral position, 

 which bears at the apex a median, doubly hooked proc- 

 ess. Gonopod well developed, convex and short with 

 apical process. Length 10 to 15 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect: The face is short, the upper 

 part of the face is not visible in profile ; the lower part 

 is slightly produced and gently rounded. The occiput 

 is plane and vertical to the lower third, then slanting 

 forward and recessive below. It bears scattered, long 

 hairs and 4 stout bristles dorsally. The proboscis is 

 cylindrical, quite short though rather stout ; the apex is 

 obtusely rounded and pilose and the whole structure ex- 

 tended obliquely forward. Palpus minute, short and 

 cylindrical with long bristles including the apex. The 

 first antennal segment is nearly twice as long as the 

 second, with a pair of quite long, stout, black bristles 

 in the middle below and the second segment bears some 

 short bristles at the apex above and below. The third 

 segment increases slightly in width near the base and is 

 then of constant width to the outer fifth, where it is 

 gradually and slightly narrowed, leaving the apex blunt 

 and bearing a short, minute, spurlike subsection which 

 in turn bears a minute spine. It also has dorsally, near 

 the middle and slightly laterally, a small incision and 

 spine. 



Head, anterior aspect: The head is wide and an- 

 teriorly flattened, the anteromedial facets enlarged. 

 The face is relatively narrow, densely golden micro- 

 pubescent or pollinose and less than a fifth the total 

 head width. It bears dense, strongly flattened hairs 

 which are pale yellow and cover the entire width; these 

 hairs, of varying lengths, are mostly rather long and 

 are directed obliquely downward; upper portion of face 



with a few short and 4 long, pale yellow not flattened 

 hairs. On the extreme lower portion of the face the 

 sides each have 4 long, black, bristly hairs next to the 

 eye margin. Face slightly divergent below. The 

 vertex is deeply excavated and divergent, the ocellar 

 protuberance moderately high with vertical sides and 

 2 quite long, stout, black, divergent, posteriorly directed 

 bristles ; behind these lies a pair of minute, anteriorly 

 directed bristles. 



Thorax : The thorax is densely, short, flat appressed, 

 reddish pilose; the humerus is quite flattened and emar- 

 ginate. There are long, black, lateral bristles consist- 

 ing of 1 notopleural, 3 supraalar, 1 postalar, and 4 pairs 

 of scutellar. Mesopleuron with 1 stout and 1 slender 

 bristle; hypopleuron with several, long, slender hairs; 

 metapleuron with a radiating fan of long, delicate, 

 black hairs bent downward near apex. Metanotal 

 slopes with numerous, long hairs. Lateral metaster- 

 num pilose; postmetacoxal area strongly chitinized. 

 Prosternum not dissociated. 



Legs : All the femora are thickened ; the hind femur 

 is strongly accentuated beyond the middle. The an- 

 terior four femora are widest at the middle. Hind 

 femur bare, with on the outer two-fifths a double dorsal 

 row of black bristles consisting of 4 lateral, 3 medial 

 bristles. The lateral bristles are stout and microtuber- 

 culate. There are 4 microtuberculate ventral bristles 

 confined to the basal half. Lower surface with some 

 long, fine, erect pile; hind tibia with a band of long, 

 fine, abundant, pale pile changing at the apex to matted, 

 stiff, reddish, flat appressed pile. Long black bristles 

 are present as follows : a cluster of 3 lateral, at the basal 

 third, slightly oblique and straight; 2 dorsal bristles 

 before the basal half, curved and subappressed. Mid- 

 dle femur with 1 dorsal at the outer third, 1 anterior 

 just below it and another, yellow, just proximal, and 3 

 very slender, posterodorsal bristles close to apex. 

 Middle tibia with an anterodorsal and an anteroventral 

 row of 3 or 4 very long bristles and some pale, ventral 

 bristles. Middle basitarsus with extremely long bris- 

 tles anteriorly and posteriorly and 1 basal posterior 

 bristle ; these long apical bristles are continued on to the 

 second segment. Anterior femur with 2 or 3 dorsal 

 bristles on the outer third; the anterior tibia has a 

 double row of 8 to 10 moderately long, dorsal bristles 

 which are fine and weak ; it also has a double row of 

 long, oblique, straight, anteroventral and posteroven- 

 tral bristles, 6 posterior and 4 anterior elements. First 

 two segments of anterior tarsus with extraordinarily 

 long apical bristles. Claws long, sharply turned down 

 at apex; pulvilli nearly as long as claw; empodium 

 nearly as long as claw, slender and stoutly swollen at 

 immediate base. 



Wings : The marginal cell is closed with a long stalk ; 

 veins closing fourth posterior and discal cells confluent 

 and aligned ; the fourth posterior cell is closed with a 

 stalk. Anal cell closed with a long stalk ; the second 

 basal cell ends with three veins. Alula rather narrow ; 

 ambient vein ends at or just beyond end of the anal 



vein. 



