Empididae. 309 



Geographical distribution: — Europe down into Spain; towards 

 the north to southern Sweden. 



19. T. minuta Meig. 



1804, Meig. Klass. der eur. zweifl. Ins. 1, 238, 38, et 1822. Syst. Beschr. 

 III, 76, 20. — 1842. Zett. Dipt. Scand. I, 303, 38. — 1862. Schin. F. A. 

 I, 89 {Platy palpus). — 1903. Kat. palåarkt. Dipt. Il, 286. — Tachydromia 

 annulata: 1815. Fall. p. p. Dipt. Suec. Empid. 7,2. — 1822. Meig. Syst. 

 Beschr. III, 77, 22. 



Male. Frons and vertex grey; epistoma white; palpi small, white 

 haired. Occiput grey, with yellow bristles above, white hairs dovvn- 

 wards. Antennæ black, the third joint short or slightly clongated, 

 shorter than the arista. Thorax black, finely brownish grey pruinose, 

 the pruinosity always leaving an indistinctly bordered middle stripe 

 bare; there is only one long dorsocentral bristJe behind, and one 

 notopleural bristle; all bristles black (rarely dark brown). Scutellum 

 with two black marginal bristles, and on each side a small hair which 

 is yellow. Pleura dark greyish pruinose; above the middle coxæ a 

 black, polished spot. Abdomen black, shining, with short, pale grey 

 hairs. Venter black. Legs black, the anterior trochanters and extreme 

 apex of the coxæ, and the base and apex of all femora yellow; the 

 base of the hind femora often broadly yellow, and the apex of the 

 posterior femora often indistinctly reddish ; the front tibiæ brown, 

 paler at the base, the middle tibiæ brown or yellow, black on the 

 basal part, hind tibiæ brownish or yellow, black at the base and 

 apex or only at the apex; tarsi yellow or brown, broadly black 

 annulated, the last joints black. The front femora a little thickened, 

 the middle femora slightly more thickened. The legs are distinctly 

 and somewhat longish haired with yellowish grey hairs; front tibiæ 

 with some small bristles on the dorsal side. Wings hyaline. Veins 

 black or dark brown, Halteres whitish. 



Female. Similar to the male; abdomen not much attenuated 

 towards the apex and rather suddenly pointed. 



Length 2,3—2,7 mm. 



This species is, besides other characters, characteristic from the 

 shining middle stripe on thorax ; it seems somewhat curious, that this 

 faet has not hitherto been mentioned in the descriptions. 



T. minuta is very common in Denmark ; Copenhagen in gardens, 

 Amager, Utterslev Mose, Charlottenlund, Ordrup Mose, Ørholm, Geel 

 Skov, Birkerød, Tyvekrog, Tisvilde, Frederikssund, Boserup near Ros- 

 kilde, Nyraad al Vordingborg: on Langeland at Lohals; on Funen at 

 Odense; in Jutland in Vejle Nørreskov, at Nebsager near Horsens, 



