68 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 283 



Diagnostic characters (figs. 1-23, 80). — Small to large-size 

 species, often with conspicuous color pattern on body and legs; 

 wings usually hyaline to faintly infuscated, often with pattern of 

 conspicuous dark spots or patches. Eyes narrowly separated; female 

 antenna usually with III-X cylindrical, mostly pale; XV with or 

 without apical seta. Third palpal segment usually with a well-formed 

 subapical sensory pit; segment I always with a seta. 



Thorax usually bluntly rounded on anterior margin of scutum but 

 sometimes with an anterior median tubercle. Legs without stout 

 spines on trochanters or femora, otherwise spines and hairs poorly 

 to moderately developed; several stronger spines on extensor side of 

 hind tibia and at apices of some tarsomeres ; tarsomere V often with 

 ventral batonnetlike spines; tarsomere IV cordiform to deeply cleft 

 ventrocaudad, its length much less than III; female claws unequal, 

 the longer one slightly incurved; male claws small, equal, sometimes 

 with tips bifid. Wing surface without macrotrichia, one to several 

 setae at most on radial vein; alula seldom lacking fringe; micro trichia 

 usually rather weak; costal margin with fringe setae dense, not quite 

 in row; wing venation stronger anteriorly; IRC relatively small, 

 occasionally almost obsolete; 2RC usually elongated and not very 

 broad; costa extending more than two-thirds of wing length; stem 

 M usually 2-3 times the length of r-m crossvein. 



Abdomen usually with some more or less definite color pattern 

 dorsally; anterior terga sometimes with striking ornamentation and 

 with setae usually moderately strong and often forming medial 

 clusters. Spermathecae, 1 or 2 functional, often a third rudimentary; 

 hyaline perforations rarely present. Male genitalia with sternum 

 IX narrow, caudomedian depression shallow or absent; tergum IX 

 usually tapering cauaad with a weak caudomedian cleft and ventral 

 membrane between sternum IX and the aedeagal sclerites always 

 spiculate, the spicules nearer the sternum usually quite prominent; 

 basistyle stout with various relative developments of either the 

 mediangular processes or the basidorsal processes, additional short 

 flanges sometimes present; dististyle usually relatively slender, 

 tapering to a point and strongly incurved at tip; parameres usually 

 bearing short, weak, basal apodemes, main body long and slender 

 with pointed apex usually not specially modified; aedeagal sclerites 

 usually slenderer than parameres, rodlike without any submedian 

 caudal membranous accessory lobes. 



Distribution. — The 108 species we have assigned to this subgenus 

 in the appendix are well distributed worldwide but are more numerous 

 in the tropics, especially the American tropics. 



