SI 



;o. 



MICRODON APIFORMIS. 



Order Diptera. Fam. Syrphidae Lat.^ Leach. 



Type of the Genus Mulio apiarius Fab. 



MiCRODON III., Meig. Musca Linn., De G. Mulio Fab. Syrphus 

 Fab. Aphritis Lat., Leach. Stratiomys Panz. 

 Antennae considerably longer than the head, porrected, conti- 

 guous, inserted upon a tubercle at the top of the face, somewhat 

 scabrous, 3-jointed, 1st joint long, slender at the base, 2nd short 

 cupshaped, 3rd elongate-ovate, conic, near the base of which 

 arises a seta as long as the joint, having a minute articulation 

 at its base (f. 3). 



Labrum short, horny, robust, obtuse (1, b). 

 Tongue as long as the labrum, slender, very acute (c). 

 Mandibles and MaxillcE none. 

 Palpi none ? 



Lip sub-membranaceous, retractile, hairy, bilobed, very much 

 dilated (g). 

 Proboscis not longer than the head, nearly vertical. Head vertical, 

 broad, short, obtuse (2). Eyes distant in both sexes, less so in the 

 males. Stemmata 3. Thorax nearly globular. Scutellum emar- 

 ginate behind. Abdomen large, trigonate. Wings incumbent, pa- 

 rallel, scarcely so long as the body. Halteres 2, small, distinct. 

 Legs robust. T'lhiad posterior, slightly bent. Tarsi b-jointed, ar- 

 ticulated, dilated; 1st joint the longest, especially in the posterior 

 pair, 2nd and 3rd transverse, 4th very small bilobed, 5th trigonate. 

 Claws small. Pulvilli distinct (8 afore leg). 



Apifobmis De Geer, tab. 7.f. 18. 20. Meig. Syst. Bcsch. v. 3. p. 163. 

 n. 1. — apiarius Fab. Syst. Ant. p. 185. «, 9. — auro-pubescens 

 Lat. Hist. Nat. t. 14. p. 358. — mutabilis Panz. Faun. Germ. 

 fasc.82.pl. 21. 



Blackish green, tinged with yellowish purple, very pubescent, 

 minutely punctured ; face and abdomen densely covered with 

 yellowish, shining, short hair. Wings pale fuscous, darkest 

 round the nerves, sometimes slightly ferruginous. Legs ferru- 

 ginous, with very short yellowish hairs. Eyes and antennae 

 black, thighs black excepting at their apex, 

 Obs. — The pubescence in some specimens is silvery, in others 

 golden, varying probably according to the age of the insect. 



In the Author's and other Cabinets. 



This insect has been generally known as the Aphritis auro- 

 pubescens of Latreille ; but as Illiger in the 2nd volume of his 



