ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



455 



Distribution: Palaearctic: Bisapoclea duplicata 

 Becker (1925). 



A specimen of a robust species loaned by the Berlin 

 Museum and labeled Bisapoclea duplicata Becker ap- 

 pears to doubtfully belong here. The more important 

 characteristics noted from Becker's description consist 

 of the slender form like Philodicus Loew, the absence 

 of spines on the ovipositor, the absence of bristles on 

 the abdominal tergites and the short, "onion-like" an- 

 tennal segment. 



Genus Philodicus Loew 

 FiGUKES 335, 695, 1387, 1396, 2387, 2390 



Philodicus Loew, Linnaea Entomologiea, vol. 3, p. 391, 1847. 

 Type of genus: Asilus javanus Wiedemann, 1819, by origi- 

 nal designation. 



Teretromyia Bigot, Ann. Soc. Ent. France, ser. 3, vol. 7, p. 416, 

 1859. Type of genus: Teretromyia cothumata Bigot, 1859, 

 by monotypy. 



Flies of medimn size or less. The facial gibbosity is 

 low, chiefly developed through the recession of the eye. 

 Pile short and scanty, the occipital bristles restricted 

 to the upper ocular corners. Characterized by the long, 

 slender wings with three submarginal cells ; the second 

 submarginal cell begins at or just beyond the end of the 

 discal cell and the first submarginal cell begins before 

 the end of the discal cell. The anterior branch of the 

 third vein ends above the wing apex. The apex of the 

 marginal cell is bulbous, the subcosta very narrow and 

 the stalk quite short.. The first posterior cell is long 

 and narrow, with nearly parallel sides and the discal 

 cell is narrowed in the middle. The crossvein between 

 the branches of the third vein is located at about the 

 same relative distance from the point of origin of the 

 anterior branch as in Apoclea Macquart; in both these 

 genera it lies much farther away than in Alcimus Loew. 

 These flies are related to Apoclea and differ by uni- 

 formly having tliree submarginal cells. Lenth 20 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect : The face is narrowly produced 

 and visible in profile on the upper half, slightly more 

 promment below ; the greater part of the gibbosity is 

 due to the recession of tlie eye. The eye is slightly 

 recessive anteriorly on the lower posterior part and dis- 

 tinctly wider on the upper half, strongly convex an- 

 teriorly, slightly convex posteriorly. The occiput is 

 rather thick and extending undiminished to the vertex. 

 The pile is abundant and composed of several rows of 

 long, stiff hairs, especially long and abundant below. 

 Bristles restricted to the upper eighth of the occiput 

 where there is beliind the upper eye corner a cluster of 

 about 8 quite stout, but rather short, curved bristles. 

 The proboscis has moderate dimensions; is directed 

 obliquely downward and is slightly swollen towards the 

 base in dorsal aspect; has a low, medial ridge, a blunt 

 apex which carries abundant, fine pile dorsally and ven- 

 trally, and numerous, long, stiff hairs ventrally below. 

 Palpus of one segment, with stiff, apical hairs and fine, 

 long pile elsewhere. Antenna attached at the upper 



tliird of head with the first segment not quite twice as 

 long as the second. Third segment slender, at least as 

 long as the first two combined ; the terminal style is a 

 little longer than the third segment ; there is no micro- 

 segment present. First segment has 2 or 3 stout setae 

 dorsally and several ventrally. Second segment with 



3 or 4 setae dorsally and 5 ventrally. 



Head, anterior aspect : The face below the antenna is 

 two-sevenths of head width and very slightly divergent 

 below. Subepistomal area moderately large, concave 

 and pubescent. The face is pubescent, with stiff, bristly 

 pile on the uper half; in the middle it has a triangular 

 group of 7 unusually stout, long, curved, pale bristles 

 directed obliquely downward and 3 more at the upper, 

 lateral corner of the epistoma, with an additional mar- 

 ginal fringe of long, stiff, bristly hairs. The front is 

 very slightly divergent, the vertex a little more con- 

 vergent; sides of front with a row of weak bristles. 

 Vertex moderately excavated, with strongly slanted 

 sides. Ocellarimn exceptionally small and low with 3 

 pairs of fine hairs. Eyes with central facets enlarged. 



Thorax : The thorax is everywhere pollinose ; the pile 

 of the mesonotum is scanty, consisting of unusually 

 short, stiff, nearly erect, basally stout setae. Acrostical 

 setae are poorly delimited; dorsocentral elements are 

 present but are poorly or not at all differentiated an- 

 teriorly; they usually begin at the postalar level with 

 a row of 3 moderately long bristles. Humerus pilose ; 

 lateral bristles are long and quite stout and consist of 

 2 notopleural, 1 supraalar, 1 suprapostalar, 2 postalar 

 and 1 pair of scutellar bristles. Scutelluni thick, convex, 

 with distinct impressed rim, pollinose and bearing a 

 number of long, erect hairs. Propleuron with moder- 

 ately abundant, fine pile and the pronotiun with 3 or 4 

 pairs of bristles; upper anterior and posterior meso- 

 pleuron with a few moderately long hairs. Upper ster- 

 nopleuron with about 20 quite long hairs. Pteropleu- 

 ron with 6 to 8 fine hairs ; posthypopleuron with 1 quite 

 stout, long bristle and a few, moderately long hairs. 

 Metapleuron with 4 stout bristles below and a tuft of 

 long, stiff pile above. Metanotal slopes micropubescent 

 only. Posterior basalare with a patch of 12 setae; 

 squama with a multiple fringe. Lateral and ventral 

 metasternum with some long, fine pile; postmetacoxal 

 area membranous, slightly narrowed from the sides. 

 Prosternum dissociated. 



Legs : The legs are stout, the anterior 4 femora rather 

 strongly swollen towards the base and together with all 

 tibia covered with dense, appressed setae. The hind 

 femur bears stout bristles consisting of 2 dorsomedial, 

 2 dorsolateral at the apex, and a lateral row containing 



4 bristles. There is a ventrolateral row of 6 or 7 bristles 

 and there are 2 rather long, stout ventral bristles at 

 the base; liind tibia with 2 stout, dorsomedial on the 

 basal half, 3 dorsolateral, and 2 ventrolateral bristles. 

 The brush of setae begins near the base and extends on 

 to the first 2 tarsal segments. Middle femur with 2 

 stout, posteroapical, 5 weak, short posterior, 3 stout 

 anterior, and 3 anteroventral bristles besides a ventral 

 fringe of stiff hairs. Middle tibia with 2 or 3 minute 



