Minella. 247 



marginal bristles, second segment with a row or a pair of marginal. 

 Legs not specially long, with long bristles; claws and pulvilli in male 

 elongate. Wings with first posterior cell more or less narrowly open, 

 or closed or quite short-petiolate, ending at about apex of wing; 

 discai angle rounded ; cubital vein with bristles only at base or stretch- 

 ing farther, to beyond half way to medial cross-vein; no or a quite 

 small costal spine. Thoracic squamula not narrowed, of shape as in 

 Tachininae. 



Of the genus about half a dozen European species are recorded ; 

 two occur in Denmark. 



Table of Species. 



1. Larger species; orbits in male a little separated; second 

 abdominal segment with a row of bristles, at all events in 

 male; cubital vein with bristles stretching half way to 

 medial cross-vein or farther 1. chalybeata. 



— Smaller species ; orbits in male touching or quite approximate ; 

 second abdominal segment with only a pair of bristles; 

 cubital vein with bristles only at base or at all events not 

 half way to medial cross-vein 2. nigrita. 



1. M. chalybeata Meig. 



1824. Meig. Syst. Beschr. IV, 271, 56 {Tachiyia) et 1838. VII, 229, 7 

 {Macquartia). — 1844. Zett. Dipt. Scand. III, 1182, 185 et 1849. VIII, 3251, 

 185 et 1859. XIII, 6141, 185 {Tachina). — 1862. Schin. F. A. I, 532 {Macquar- 

 tia). — 1900. Stein, Ent. Nachricht. XXVI, 133. — 1907. Kat. palåarkt. Dipt. 

 III, 409. — 1924. Stein, Arch. f. Naturgesch. 90, 6, 158, 1 (Ptilops). 



Male. Frons above very narrow, but the orbits not touching, 

 the frontal stripe distinct to vertex. Orbits and upper parts of cheeks 

 greyish black, cheeks for the rest silvery grey; jowls black, shining, 

 slightly greyish. Frontal stripe black or brownish black. Orbits 

 outside the frontal bristles with numerous strong, bristly hairs, 

 reaching down on the upper part of the cheeks; jowls black-haired. 

 Occiput black, with all black hairs. Eyes pale-hairy. Antennæ black; 

 arista thickened in nearly the basal half. Palpi black. Thorax bluish 

 black and shining, not pruinose, black-haired. Abdomen bluish 

 black, shining, black-haired, with numerous discai and marginal 

 bristles, on second segment a row of marginal, on third a pair of 

 discai and a row of marginal, and on fourth a row of discai and of 

 marginal bristles; fifth segment quite covered with bristles; often the 

 bristles more numerous and irregular. Legs moderately long, with 



