Empididae. 165 



are short-haired. The hairs on the legs are yellowish to brownish, on 

 the posterior tarsi more blackish, the bristles are black. Wings hyaline. 

 Veins black or blackish brown; the upper branch of the cubital vein 

 much diverging. Stigma brown. Halteres yellow to dark yellow. 



Female. Quite similar to the male. Front metatarsi simple, not 

 half as long as tibiæ; hind tibiæ somewhat dilated and strongly curved 

 outwards in the middle; middle femora with hairs on the anterior 

 side about as in the male, but not so dense, tibiæ and tarsi without 

 long hairs. 



Length 4—5 mm. 



This species is easily known by the long hairs on the middle 

 legs in the male, and the female is quite similar and its hind tibiæ 

 are characteristic. 



R.puhipes is not common in Denmark, it has on some occasions 

 been taken in great number, but it seems to be rather local; Dyre- 

 haven (H. J. Hansen), Ørholm, Tisvilde, on Langeland at Lohals and 

 in Jutland at Hald near Viborg (the author); it was for the tirst time 

 taken in 1884. My dates are only ^'""l^s—^^h. I took it often in the 

 evening in copula flying high in the air, and when a pair was taken 

 with the net, there was also always a prey with them, which was in 

 one case a Tachydromia; on another occasion I took the male in great 

 number with a small CJnronomus as prey, and this was imbedded in 

 a web; (see under the description of the genus). 



Geographical distribution: — Northern and middle Europe down 

 into Styria; it is not known north of Denmark; it occurs also in 

 England (according to specimens sent to me from Mr. Verrall). 



14. H. quadrivittata Meig. 



1822. Meig. Syst. Beschr. III, 7, 11, p.p. — 1862. Schin. F. A. I, 115, 

 p.p. - 1892. Strobl, Verh. zool. bot. Gesell. Wien, XLII, 142, 31. - 1903. 

 Kat. palaarkt. Dipt. II, 255. 



Male. Frons and epistoma greyish brown, vertex a little darker; 

 palpi greyish, with dark hairs. Occiput greyish brown, with black 

 hairs, chiefly present along the eye-margin; downwards the hairs are 

 paler. Antennæ black. Thorax greyish brown, with four brownish 

 black stripes, the median abbreviated behind, the lateral in front; 

 the median stripes are distant, while the lateral are rather near to 

 the median. The dorsocentral and acrostichal bristles short, black; 

 the former uniserial, long behind, the latter biserial, but sornewhat 

 irregular, so that in piaces there may be three or four bristles trans- 

 versally. Further a humeral bristle, a posthumeral, three notopleural, 

 a supraalar and a postalar bristle, all black. Pleura grey. Scutellum 



