ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



453 



illinffworthiHiirdy (1922) ; [hnacqnarti Bicrot (I860)] 

 malleolus Walker (1849); regiua Jaennicke (1867); 

 rosevillensis Hardy (1935) ; nifiventris Macquart 

 (1838); sydneyensis Macquart (1838) [=amythaon 

 Walker (1849), ma^o Walker (1849), ^.nigriiarsisMac- 

 quart (1834), tastnaniae Macquart (1838)]. 



Irwin-Smith (1923) described and illustrated egg 

 and first stage larva of Neoaratus hercules. 



Genus Apoclea Macquart 



Figures 392, 707, 13S4, 1395, 2184, 2228 



Apoclea Macquart, Dipt^res exotiques, vol. 1, rt. 2, p. 110, 1838. 

 Type of genus : Asiliis algirus Linn6, 1767, as Apoclea pal- 

 lida Macquart, 1838, in Engel, 192(5. 



Medium size or large flies, rather strongly tapered 

 and characterized by the dense, pale pollen and pile. 

 The pile is extremely short and characteristically ap- 

 pressed. Bristles are prominent and pale in color. The 

 wings usually have a rectangular crossvein between the 

 anterior and posterior branches of the third vein with 

 that part of the anterior branch which is basal and lies 

 before the crossvein broken and not joining the second 

 vein. Earely in tliis genus there are individuals with 

 this section unbroken, f onning 3 submarginal cells ; also 

 rarely the crossvein is absent, leaving only 2 submar- 

 ginal cells. Metanotal callosity without pile. Female 

 ovipositor with short, dorsal, conical spines or long, 

 large, apical spines or both types. Length 16 to 27 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The face is quite short dorsally 

 and nearly plane with the eye margin and more promi- 

 nent below, due to the recession of the eye; the whole 

 anterior profile is nearly plane and vertical. The eye 

 is long and very strongly convex anteriorly, sharply re- 

 cessive anteroventrally on the lower fifth, where the 

 posterior margin is oblique and plane, the remaining 

 posterior margin is gently convex. Occiput rather 

 short and of nearly equal thickness throughout, widest 

 submarginally, the pile is long and unusually dense 

 ventrally, reduced in length and quantity on the upper 

 portion of the head and partly replaced by quite stout, 

 short bristles; these begin at the middle of the head 

 and consist of about 20 on each side, including a small 

 cluster situated medial to the upper eye corner. The 

 proboscis is stout, distinctly swollen towards the base 

 both laterally and dorsally in the type of genus, but 

 very slightly swollen in a few species; the apex is ob- 

 tusely rounded with fine, bristly haire. On the basal 

 half not only the ventral surface, but the lateral surface 

 is rather densely long pilose in the type of genus and 

 other species but the quantity reduced in some species. 

 Palpus long, slender and cylindrical, with numerous, 

 slender, apical bristles and some fine, ventral and 

 lateral pile. Antenna attached between the middle and 

 the upper third of the head and moderately elongate ; 

 the first segment is a little longer than the second. The 

 third segment in the type of genus is widest in the 

 middle, almost as wide basally, but moderately tapered 



on the outer half and carrying a short microsegment 

 and a thick, basal style distally swollen; this segment is 

 approximately as long as the first antennal segment, or 

 very slightly longer; the style is one and a half times 

 as long as the third segment; the style bears a minute 

 spine. In Apoclea helvipes the third segment is quite 

 short and pear-shaped. 



Head, anterior aspect : The head is very little wider 

 than liigh. The face below the antenna is little more 

 than a fourth the head width and divergent below. 

 Subepistomal area large, concave, oblique, and pubes- 

 cent. Face densely pubescent and covered with a char- 

 acteristic, wide, dense, appressed mat of rather long, 

 slightly curved, pale bristles ; the epistomal margin has 

 2 or 3 rows of numerous, closely adjacent, longer, quite 

 stout bristles and other more slender elements continued 

 laterally beside the subepistoma ; they vary in quantity 

 on the upper face. The front is short and pollinose 

 with numerous, short, subappressed bristles along the 

 lateral third ; the vertex is deeply excavated, the ocel- 

 larium is small and low and bears 2 or 3 pairs of short, 

 stiff bristles curled forward. Sides of front slightly 

 divergent, convergent at the vertex. Anterior eye fleets 

 strongly enlarged. 



Thorax: the thorax is densely pale pollinose. The 

 pile of the mesonotum is abundant but quite short, sub- 

 appressed and setate. Acrostical elements not differ- 

 entiated ; dorsocentral elements differentiated only op- 

 posite the postalar where there are 4 or 5 pairs of long, 

 quite stout bristles. In the type of genus the following 

 complement of long, stout, lateral bristles present: 2 

 notopleural, 1 supraalar with 1 suprapostalar, 2 posta- 

 lar and 1 pair of scutellar bristles, increased to 3 pairs 

 in some species. Scutellum thick, convex, vdth im- 

 pressed rim, the base with a sharp crease laterally, the 

 surface pollinose and densely covered with long, stiff, 

 nearly erect pile which tends to be curled forward ante- 

 riorly. Propleuron with especially abundant, long, 

 dense pile ventrally and with 5 or 6 pairs of stout bris- 

 tles on the pronotum. Mesopleuron with dense, ap- 

 pressed, rather short pile dorsally, some scattered, erect 

 hairs posteriorly and similar pile on the anterior and 

 posterior stemopleuron, the pteropleuron, the posthypo- 

 pleuron ; the metapleuron has 3 to 6 stout bristles in a 

 vertical row on the lower half and stiff pile above. 

 Metanotal slopes micropubescent only. Lateral and 

 ventral metasternimi with rather abimdant, short pile ; 

 postmetacoxal area membranous; tegula with some 

 short bristles; posterior basalare with a conspicuous 

 ventral patch of 5 or 6 stout bristles, absent in Apoclea 

 continuata. 



Legs : The femora are stout, rather strongly swollen 

 on the anterior and middle pairs; the pile is dense, 

 moderately long and flat appressed everywhere, except 

 on the ventral surface of the anterior and posterior 

 tibiae. Bristles stout, comparatively short and pale. 

 In the type of genus there are on the hind femur 8 

 ventrolateral, 4 ventromedial, 4 dorsolateral, 1 dorso- 

 medial a short distance back from the apex, and 2 short. 



