ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



459 



Genus Eichoichemus Bigot 



Figures 197, 316, 719, 746, 1440, 1449, 2399, 2402 



Eichoichemus Bigot, Ann. Soc. Ent. France, ser. 3, vol. 5, p. 543, 



1S57. Type of genus : Erax flavianalis Macquart, 1848, by 



original designation. 

 Proctophorus Schiner, Verb, zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, vol. 16, p. 674, 



1866. Type of genus : AsiJus pyrrhcnnystax Wiedemann, 



1828, by original designation. 



Rather small flies, comparatively slender and cylin- 

 droid -with reduced pile. The venation is rather like 

 Asilus Limie. The face is moderately produced below 

 and rises gently a sliort distance below the antenna. 

 The pile is greatly reduced ; bristles are long and slen- 

 der. They may be recognized by the very blmit claws 

 and the elongate, strongly compressed ovipositor of the 

 female; ocellar bristles are usually very stout and long 

 and acrostical and dorsocentral bristles well developed. 

 In addition the convex scutellura is quite without any 

 impressed rim. Length 12 to 16 mm. 



Head, lateral aspect: The face is slightly produced 

 on the lower two-thirds and begins to rise gently at the 

 upper tliird of the face, beneath the antenna. The an- 

 tenna is placed on a slight elevation. The eye is of 

 medium length, strongly convex anteriorly, plane pos- 

 teriorly for the greater part of its height but dorsally 

 rising above the occiput and anteroventrally recessive 

 on the lower fifth. The occiput is only moderately thick 

 but is developed throughout its length ; ventrally it has 

 rather long but only moderately abundant, compara- 

 tively fine pile and a few, fine, scattered hairs in the 

 middle. Bristles begin at the upper third, are stout, of 

 medium length and but little curved. There are ap- 

 proximately 11 pairs of bristles. Proboscis cylindrical, 

 comparatively slender from the dorsal aspect, very 

 slightly widened from the base; the apex is bluntly 

 rounded with a few, stiff, lateral hairs ; the whole ven- 

 tral surface in the middle except the outer third bears 

 long, stiff, bristly hairs. Palpus coinparatively short 

 and robust, with rather numerous, dorsal, lateral and 

 terminal bristles; the proboscis is directed chiefly down- 

 ward. Antenna attached at the upper third of the head, 

 of moderate length ; the first segment is nearly twice as 

 long as the second. The third segment is scarcely or 

 not at all wider than the second and is a little shorter 

 than the combined length of the fii^st two segments; 

 it is long oval, tapered at the base and the apex is with- 

 out a microsegment and bears a short, distally swollen 

 style of nearly the same length as the third segment; 

 style with apical spine. Ventral surface of first and 

 second segments with numerous, moderately long, 

 slender, black bristles continued laterally and held ob- 

 liquely ; dorsal surface with similar but shorter bristles 

 and only a little less numerous. 



Head, anterior aspect: The face below antenna is a 

 fifth of the head width and divergent at the epistoma. 

 Subepistomal area is long, strongly oblique and rather 

 narrow, concave and pubescent. The face is pubescent 

 and apilose; beginning on the upper border of the gib- 



bosity there are 2 or 3 vertical rows of long, quite stout, 

 black bristles continued down to the epistomal margin ; 

 there are at least 16 bristles ; all are curved, the upper 

 ones extend horizontally ; also across the epistoma con- 

 tinued down along the side margin are numerous, long, 

 yellow bristles. The front is short, bare centrally with 

 a row of 4 long, slender bristles along the eye margin 

 with others only half as long and a close-set row of 

 5 more stout, equally long bristles set just dorsolateral 

 to the antenna. Vertex moderately excavated with 

 slanting sides ; the ocellarium is large, set anterior and 

 moderately high with exceptionally stout, long, diver- 

 gent bristles between the ocelli and a somewhat shorter, 

 more slender pair of bristles between the posterior 

 ocelli. Anterior eye facets enlarged. 



Thorax : The thorax is pollinose, mesonotum abrupt 

 and convex both anteriorly and posteriorly. Pile of 

 mesonotum very scanty, short, subei-ect, bristly setate ; 

 there is a prominent, double row of long, slender, back- 

 wai'dly curled acrostical elements that end about the 

 middle of the mesonotiun and consist of 8 pairs. The 

 dorsocentral elements contain 3 short anterior elements 

 followed, opposite the posterior level of the hmnerus, 

 by long, stout, dorsocentral bristles with 7 or 8 in each 

 row. Humerus with a number of stout, bristly setae. 

 The following complement of long, quite stout bristles 

 is found in the type of genus : 2 notopleural, 2 supra- 

 alar, 3 postalar, 1 pair of scutellar bristles. Scutellum 

 thick, convex, pollinose, without trace of impressed rim ; 

 it has 3 fuie, long, bristly hairs laterally and a deep bas- 

 al crease. Propleuron with scanty, long, stiff pile ; the 

 pronotum has 2 pairs of stout bristles ; the posterodor- 

 sal portion of the pronotum is protuberant, convex, 

 with a deep posterior fissure, and bears 12 to 15 long, 

 bristly hairs or very weak, black bristles. The upper 

 border of the mesopleuron has 3 or 4 bristly hairs; its 

 posterior margin below with 9 quite long, posteriorly 

 directed, pale, stiff or semibristly hairs. Ui^per pos- 

 terior stern op leuron and the anterior sternopleuron, 

 the upper pteropleuron each with a tuft of long pile. 

 Posthypopleuron with a vertical row of 5 or 6 very 

 long, stiff hairs. Metapleuron with a vertical row of 8 

 or more quite long, distinct, black bristles. Lateral 

 slopes of the metanotum micropubescent only. Pos- 

 terior lateral slopes of the metasternum and the chi- 

 tinized, rather wide ventral metasternmn each with a 

 few long hairs. Postmetacoxal area membranoas; 

 tegula with setae, posterior basalare pubescent only, an- 

 terior basalare with 3 or 4 long, slender, bristly hairs; 

 squama with a multiple fringe. 



Legs: All of the femora are moderately stout, the 

 anterior pair rather strongly thickened on the doreal 

 portion and accentuated toward the base. Dorsal pile 

 fine, appressed and setate on all the femora. In the 

 type of genus the following complement of compara- 

 tively stout, moderately long bristles is present : on tlie 

 hind femur 3 doreolateral, and on the apical fifth with 

 1 placed somewhat higher and beyond it dorsomedially 



