476 GNATS Oil MOSQUITOES — CHAPTER XIV 



■ Antennae fourteen-jointed, second joint small, the joints in- 

 creasing in length towards the apex, very pilose in the 2 , more 

 so in the <? . Legs scaled, certain parts being provided with 

 very long, hair-like scales. Wings with rather broad scales, 

 anterior fork- cell longer and narrower than the posterior; "3" 

 nearer the apex of the wing than "2"; "4" nearer the apex 

 still ; III carried through into the l^asal cell, and continued to the 

 root of the wing as a spurious vein. 



The characters given by Robineau Desvoidy for this genus 

 are not sufficient, so that it has become necessary to modify the 

 generic definition as above ; moreover, owing to the small number 

 and bad condition of the few existing specimens, certain males 

 had been mistaken for females, it is only while passing through 

 the press, that a number of excellently preserved specimens have 

 been received from Para which show that the palpi are really 

 short in both sexes, and that the genus is therefore one of the 

 ^'Edomina sub-family, -S'. remipes, Weid., l)eing taken as the " type." 



The chief distinctive feature apai^t from the scale ornamentation 

 is the position of the cross-veins. Although the forward position 

 of the posterior cross-vein is similar to Mucidus, the wing scales 

 at once prevent confusion between the two genera. The curious 

 large patches of long leg scales occur again in Eretmajpoditcs, 

 Theob., but here too, the venation readily separates them. 



Walker's Sabethes scintillans cannot be included in the genus. 

 It is distinctly a Psoropliora. The members of this genus are 

 purely sylvan in habits, and appear to be very uncommon. 



The wing scales in this genus present a good deal of resem- 

 blance to those of Panoplites in general form, being distinctly 

 unsynimetrical, and having a tendency to the same bracket- 

 shaped outline, but they lie close to the wing and have a strong 

 metallic lustre quite wanting in the scales of that genus, owing 

 to those of Sabethes being coarsely striated transversely, as well 

 as longitudinally. 



Of the three species, S. remipes and S. nltidus have a paddle 

 on the mid leg only, while .S. longipes has paddles on all three 

 legs. 



1. SABETHES REMIPES, Wied. 



(Auss. Zweifliig. Ins. i, p. 573 (1828), Wiedemann; Novara. Reise. Dipt. 



p. .SI (1868), Schiner ; Hist. Nat. Dipt, i, 37, 18 (1834), Macq.) 



Plate xi, fig. 7a, "Wing of <? ; 7b, Head of J ; 7c, .Viitennse J ; 7d, 



Mid lejj; of <? ; 7e, Wing scale. 



Wings unspotted, metallic violet-brown. Tarsi unhanded. 

 Thorax and abdomen deep metallic steely blue, unadorned, but 



