ASILIN'AB 



ROBBER FLIES OF THE WORLD 



477 



and is a European species. These Palaearctic flies only 

 superficially resemble the widespread Xew World 

 genus, which must now be assigned another name. The 

 species Protophanes pimctatus, an Old World species 

 and the type of genus of Protophanes Loew, has gen- 

 erally been considered a synonym of Erax bariatus; 

 the latter, E7'aj; Scopoli, does have priority over Pro- 

 tophanes Loew. In any case the name Erax Scopoli 

 cannot be used for the New World group of flies now 

 without a name, and it seems entirely proper to begin 

 using Scopoli's name for the Palaearctic species, which 

 have previously gone under the name Protophanes; I 

 have, therefore, placed Protophanes in synonymy. I 

 call attention to the scattered distribution of some spe- 

 cies placed by Kertesz m this group (Protophanes 

 Loew) ; I consider it highly doubtful that all of these 

 species are congeneric with the European Erax bar- 

 batus Scopoli (Protophanes punctatiis Meigen of 

 authore). 



Head, lateral aspect : The head is of medium length 

 made longer by the very prominent gibbosity of the 

 face, which is abrupt above, leaving the upper fourth 

 of the face short, but slightly elevated at the antennal 

 base. The gibbosity of the face is prominent and 

 roimded. Occiput prominent, especially dorsally and 

 again on the lowest portion where the eye is angularly 

 recessive. The pile of the occiput is dense, long and 

 fine below and becomes more scanty above. Bristles be- 

 gin at the middle of the head, are submarginal, long 

 and slender, except at the vertex and on the middle of 

 the head tend to point or curve downward. The upper 

 bristles are stout, spikelike and slightly curved and 

 often situated in a double row. The entire group of 

 upper bristles on each side contain as many as 10 or as 

 few as 4. The proboscis is stout, swollen towards the 

 base, with bluntly rounded bristly apex ; the whole is 

 more or less cylindrical. Palpus large and conspicuous, 

 cylindrical with numerous, long, stout bristles. Tlie 

 antenna is attached near the upper third of the head. 

 The first segment is comparatively elongate, nearly or 

 quite twice as long as the second segment. The third 

 segment is usually shorter than the first and long oval, 

 attenuate apically, without microsegment, the style 

 long, rather stout, with a bristle at the tip; this style 

 is generally longer, from one to two or more times as 

 long as the third segment. 



Head, anterior aspect : The face is wide, not quite a 

 third the head width, with either nearly parallel sides, 

 or slightly divergent below; surface pubescent. The 

 gibbosity is usually prominent and roimded but some- 

 times low, sparsely beset with bristly pile and a few, 

 long, very stout bristles; or with a great deal of long, 

 coarse, bristly pile, and few or many bristles. Gen- 

 erally the bristles are in strong contrast to the pile. 

 The greater part of the lateral margins of the large, 

 oblique, pollinose, slightly concave subepistoma are 

 lined witli stout and slender bristles. Cheeks prominent 

 and pubescent. Front slightly wider than the upper 

 face, quite short, pollinose, the middle third excavated 



so that the lateral portions are sloping and bear an ir- 

 regular, dense band of slender, marginal bristles and 

 a multiple subocular row of long, stout and slender 

 bristles. The vertex is deeply excavated, both anter- 

 iorly and posteriorly, the ocellarium low with a tuft 

 of numerous, short bristles or sometimes 1 to 3 pairs 

 of long, quite stout bristles. 



Thorax: The mesonotum is high, abrupt both an- 

 teriorly and posteriorly, tending to be compressed an- 

 teromedially; the whole surface is pollinose and almost 

 all of the pile consists of numerous, stout, subappressed 

 setae. There is some fine, anterior pile on the hmnerus 

 and above the wing. Acrostical elements are differen- 

 tiated as a broad, medial band but dorsocentral elements 

 are only found on the posterior half ; the suture is ob- 

 lique. The lateral complement of long, stout bristles 

 contains 2 to 4 notopleural, 1 supraalar, 1 suprapostalar, 

 2 or 3 postalar and 2 to 4 pairs of scutellar bristles. 

 Pronotum with bristles; the prothoracic pile is abim- 

 dant. Anterior margin of the mesoplem'on and the pos- 

 teroventral margin with a fringe of long, slender 

 bristles or bristly pile and setae in the upper corners. 

 Anterior basalare with conspicuous, long, numerous 

 bristles or bristly hairs. Pteropleuron and sterno- 

 pleuron and the posthypopleuron with bristly pile. 

 Metapleuron with a band of bristles and pile. Meta- 

 notal callosity creased behind, bullose and micro- 

 pubescent only. Metasternmn pilose, the postmetacoxal 

 area membranous and pollinose and pilose. Prostemimi 

 dissociated strongly. 



Legs : All tlie femora are quite stout, the first four are 

 a little swollen, especially basally. Pile of femora and 

 tibiae sometimes almost wholly flat appressed and 

 merely coarse, or setate, or with long, erect, ventral 

 fringes of pile. Bristles stout, blunt and conspicuous; 

 typically on the hind femur there may be 4 lateral 

 bristles, including the one at the subapex, 1 dorsomedial 

 at the subapex and 1 at the apex, besides 6 or 7 ventro- 

 lateral bristles, all spikelike. Hind tibia with 3 or 4 

 dorsolateral, a like nimiber of dorsomedial, which may 

 be lacking, and 2 ventrolateral bristles; apex with 5 

 bristles. Coxa laterally with bristles on the hind four 

 and extremely nmnerous, long, anterior bristles or 

 bristly hairs on the first four. Middle femur with 1 or 



2 bristles anteriorly and posteriorly on the basal half, 

 or with as many as 4 anteriorly, 3 anteroventral, and 



3 or 4 posteroventral, and none posteriorly except at 

 the apex. Anterior femur with only 1 or 2 bristles at 

 the apex. The tibial rows have 2 to 4 bristles. Claws 

 long, bent at the apex, moderately sharp; the pulvilli 

 long; the empodium long and bladelike. Pulvilli with 

 2 stiff, longitudinal bands. 



Wings: The wings are elongate; the marginal cell is 

 slightly widened at the expense of the costa in both 

 sexes and faintly rippled ; this cell is closed with a short 

 petiole. The anterior branch of the third vein arises 

 at, before or beyond the posterior crossvein. Both 

 branches of the third vein, in one species group, end 

 before the wing apex ; in other groups at or beyond the 

 wing apex. Most species have the anterior branch of 



