96 Tachinidae. 



haired, below femora more or less pale-haired; a ventral bristle on 

 middle tibiæ; tarsi not dilated; claws and pulvilli strongly elongated. 

 Wings generally very broad with the anterior margin ciirved out- 

 wards as in hemiptera; they ara either aboiit all brown fumigated 

 (var. umbripennis Girsch.) or they are clear with brown clouds of 

 various shape and extension: as a seaming of the veins, or as a trans- 

 verse band down over medial and posterior cross-veins (var. jasci- 

 pennis Girsch.), or with especially anterior and apical part brown 

 (var. nebulosa Girsch.); sometimes they are almost all white (var. 

 latipennis Girsch.). Veins yellow and brown; subcostal vein ending 

 about above medial cross-vein; first posterior cell medium long- 

 petiolate, ending at apex of wing; discai vein with the angle rounded, 

 but the bend nearly rectangular so that it joins the cubital vein 

 rectangularly ; posterior cross-vein about in the middle between 

 medial cross-vein and angle. Squamulæ whitish or darker to nearly 

 blackish. Halteres yellow to more brownish. 



Female. Frons narrower than in male; inner vertical bristles 

 distinct. Head less broad and face much narrower than in male. 

 Abdomen grey, the basal segments more or less dark; it is dull or 

 more or less shining. Ovipositor conical, nearly straight, somewhat 

 truncate at apex. Hind tibiæ with the bristles more numerous than 

 in male. Wings much less broad than in male, almost hyaline, yellow 

 at base. 



Lengtli 4 — 7 mm. 



As in hemiptera the female varies only a little, the male there- 

 against to a rather high degree, and this has given rise to the creation 

 of many species. The variation comprises the colour, especially of 

 abdomen, and colour and breadth of the wings. It was seen that 

 abdomen may be all grey pruinose, or quite shining and metallic, 

 the specimens accordingly looking rather different, but varieties with 

 abdomen less pruinose, the hind margins to the segments or a middle 

 stripe shining, also occur. It is, however, especially the colour of the 

 wings which varies, but the variations are less separated than in 

 hemiptera^ also because the colour of abdomen and the markings of 

 the wings are not in relation to each other. Girschner describes the 

 four varieties named above. Also the breadth of the wings varies, 

 and af ter Girschner it is the form with evenly brown wings {umbri- 

 pennis) which has these most narrow and is thus herein female-like. 

 There occur, however, also very female-like males with narrow, 

 hyaline wings ; these males seem to stand rather pecuUar, and according 



