306 ' Orthorrhapha brachyceia. 



Geographical distribution: — Europe down into Italy, and further 

 down into North Africa; towards the nortii to northern Sweden. 



16. T. major Zett. 



1842. Zett. Dipt. Scand. 1, 287, 18. — 1862. Schin. F. A. I, 88. 

 {Platy palpus). — 1903. Kat. palåarkt. Dipt. II, 285. — Tachydromia 

 cursitans (non Fabr.) : 1804. Meig. Klass. der eur. Zweifl. Ins. I, 237, 1. et 

 1822. Meig. Syst. Beschr. III, 83, 38, Tab. XXIII, Fig. 23. 



Male. Vertex and frons grey; epistoma white; palpi wiiitish 

 yellow, large, more than half as long as the proboscis. Antennæ 

 yellow, arista brown; the third joint short, considerably shorter than 

 the arista. Thorax greyish yellow pruinose, with two indistinct, grey 

 rniddle stripes, disappearing backwards; there are two distinct noto- 

 pleiiral bristles; all bristles yellow. Scutellum with four yellow 

 marginal bristles, the lateral small. Pleura grey pruinose; above the 

 rniddle coxæ a black, polished spot. Abdomen black, shining, the 

 first segments with grey bands at the sides, and generally also the 

 following segments with narrow bands; abdomen is clothed with 

 short, pale yellow hairs. Venter black. Legs yellow or pale yellow, 



Fig. 140. Wing-part of T. major. 



tarsi a little brownish towards the end. Front femora somewhat^ 

 rniddle femora considerably thickened. The legs are yellow haired. 

 Wings somewhat yellowish. Veins brown or dark brown, yellow to- 

 wards the base, cubital and discai vein converging, the cubital vein 

 very slightly curved, the discai vein evenly and somewhat strongly 

 curved, but not as much as in candicans. Balteres yellowish white. 



Female. Similar to the male; abdomen pointed. 



Length 4 — 5 mm. 



This species is most like cursitans., and has like this a black 

 spot on the pleura, but it is distinguished, besides by the quite yel- 

 low antennæ, by a somewhat different course of the cubital vein 

 which is more straight than in cursitans, while on the contrary the 



