Empididae. 71 



be sure not in copula, but liowever together. Zetterstedt notes the 

 resemblance between the males of hyhrida and sciarina, and the 

 females of Injhrida and flava and says: „An copulatio hybrida?" This 

 copulation should thus take place between the sciarina-TiiOiXe and the 

 j^a?;a-female ; as shown above this cannot be so, since the hybrida- 

 female is distinct from the /?a«ja-female, but with regard to sciarina 

 the case is doubtful; the saanna-female seems not to be known, it 

 is at all events not described, and as the species belongs to a group 

 with sexual dimorphism in the colour, this feniale must probably be 

 expected to differ somewhat from the male, I have only seen a 

 single specimen of sciarina, but I am inclined to think, that it is only 

 the male to hybrida; should this prove to be the case, hybrida should 

 have the name sciarina. 



Rh. hybrida is not common in Denmark, but sometimes taken in 

 some number; Lersøen (Stæger), Damhusmosen (the author); it has 

 thus hitherto only been taken in the neighbourhood of Copenhagen. 

 It occurs on flowers of Umbelliferæ, generally near water, Stæger 

 has thus taken it on Chaerophyllum sylvestre; it seems to be an 

 autumn species, my dates are ^'^li — ^*^/s, 



Geographical distribution: — The species is hitherto only known 

 from Sweden, towards the north to Lapland; its southern limit should 

 thus lie in Denmark. 



19. Rh. nigripennis Fabr. 



1794. Fabr. Ent. Syst. IV, 407,20 (Empis). — 1805. Fabr. Syst. Antl. 

 144, 7 {Tachydromia). — 1815. Fall. Dipt. Suec. Empid. 30, 34 {Empis). 

 — 1842. Zett. Dipt. Scand. I, 424, 45. — EhampJwmyia obscuripennis : 

 1830. Meig. Syst. Beschr. VI, 340,39. — 1893. Strobl, Mitth. Ver. Steierm. 

 1892, 59, (as var. b of timbrijjennis). 



Male. Eyes contiguous, frontal triangle black; epistoma black. 

 Occiput blackish, somewhat shining, with black hairs. Labrum as 

 long as the head is high; palpi black, with black hairs at the apex. 

 Antennæ as long as the head or slightly longer, black, the two basal 

 joints with a few short, black hairs, the third joint elongated and 

 attenuated towards the apex. Thorax strongly arched, deep velvet 

 black, somewhat shining in front and at the sides. The dorsocentral 

 bristles somewhat short, black, uniserial; no acrostichal bristles. 

 Further a humeral, a posthumeral, a pair of notopleural and a 

 postalar bristle, all black, but so far as I could see there is no 

 supraalar bristle. Scutellum with four black marginal bristles. Pleura 

 black or greyish black, slightly shining, metapleura with black hairs. 

 Abdomen somewhat slender, deep velvet black on the dorsal side 



