Empididae. 229 



is not, so far as I could detect, divided into two joints; the arista is 

 either bare {precatoria, stigmatica, melanocephala) or hairy {raptora, 

 oratoria). Epistoma is narrow; when the eyes are touching below 

 the antennæ it forms a very narrow triangle. The jowls are distinct, 

 but small, and not descending below the eyes, or slightly descending 

 posteriorly, where they are going over in the occiput. Proboscis is 

 about as long as the head is high or a little longer, it is stretched 

 downwards and curved a little inwards. Labrum is somewhat strong, 

 as long as proboscis, curved somewhat downwards, and three-pointed 

 at the apex, but the median point is slightly chitinised; it is semi- 

 tubular or nearly tubular; on the inside, a little behind the apex, 

 there is at each edge an elongated part, beset with dents or spines. 

 Hypopharynx is as long as labrum and likewise curved downwards, 

 it is canaliculated, somewhat broad, a little dilated towards the apex 

 which is almost spoon-shaped and slightly pointed. The maxillæ are 

 somewhat shorter than labrum; they are weakly chitinised, very thin 

 blades, beset with some very small hairs, and at the apex cleft into 

 a number of long, fine, bristle-like processes; the maxillary palpi are 

 somewhat long, one-jointed. a little compressed, and densely hairy; 

 they are also weakly chitinised. Labium is as long as labrum, the 

 labella are a little longer than the basal part, cleft to their base; the 

 whole labium is very slightly chitinised. Thorax is somewhat long^ 

 rectangular or sometimes narrowed in front; it is not much arched 

 above; prothorax is small, somewhat neck-shaped, metathorax very 

 small, The dorsocentral and acrostichal hairs are very small, scarcely 

 visible. A notopleural and sometimes also a postalar bristle present. 

 Scutellum has two bristles or only small hairs. Metapleura bare, 

 Abdomen is slender, consisting of eight segments, the first is short; 

 in the male the eighth segment is small or hidden. The male genitalia 

 consist of a larger or smaller ventral lamella, and of upper and lower 

 lateral lamellæ forming a forceps. In the female the abdomen is 

 pointed, the eighth segment more or less attenuated and followed by 

 a shorter or longer segment, terminating with two short, styliform 

 lamellæ. The legs are long and slender; the front legs are specially 

 developed in both sexes; the coxæ are long, from somewhat shorter 

 to almost as long as the femora; the femora are much thickened, and 

 the tibiæ curved at the base ; the femora have on the ventral side 

 two rows of short spines, and outwards to them a row of long bristles 

 on each side; the tibiæ have a row of short spines below and a long 

 spine at the apex; the front legs are thus raptorial, and they are so 

 fitted, that the tibiæ can be laid up between the spines on the femora. 

 For the rest the legs are short-haired, and there are no apical spurs 



