Lasiophthicus. 263 



This species may vary a little with regard to the abdominal spots, 

 which in rare cases may be very narrow; of tiie female a variety 

 occurs witii quite black abdomen {unicolor Curt.), but it has pale 

 hairs on the piaces where the spots should be. 



L. jpyrastri is a common species in Denmari^ and has, I think, 

 been taken in all parts of our country including Bornholm. My dates 

 are ^"/e — -^/g; it is a late species and rarely met with until on the last 

 days of July and it is especially found in August and September. It 

 occurs on various localities, especially on Umbelliferæ. The pupa was 

 found at Roden on Lolland on Vo (Schlick); the larva was taken on 

 Amager near the shore on Garex and Phragmites on 2^/7, they developed 

 in the first half of August (Kryger); larvæ were further taken on the 

 same locality in very great numbers on Phragmites infested with 

 Aphides on ^/s, they pupated in the foUowing days, and the imagines 

 came on ^^/s and further on (the author). 



Geographical distribution : — All Europe, towards the north to 

 middle Sweden, and in Finland; further it occurs on the Canary 

 Islands, Madeira and in Western Africa, and also in North America 

 and down to Chili. 



Remarks : Generally both L. pyrastri and transfugus apud Fabricius 

 are given as synonyms to this species, and this view I have followed 

 in my synonymicai list, but I have some doubts with regard to the 

 correctness of it. Meigen says that S. pyrastri is in Fabricius' collec- 

 tion labelled as transfugus^ but he does not say whether the species 

 labelled pyrastri is the same. I think it not very probable that 

 Fabricius has divided this rather characteristic species into two, and 

 my view is confirmed by the determinations found in the collection 

 of Tonder Lund and Sehestedt, even if the specimens in this collection 

 are not those from which Fabricius' descriptions are taken. In the 

 said collection there are two specimens, a male and a female, labelled 

 transfugus, and both are pyrastri \ further there are a male and a 

 female labelled pyrastri, the male, which stands on the label, is 

 S. lunulatus, the female S. luniger; I should be inclined to think that 

 something similar is the case in the collection of Fabricius. 



2. L. seleniticus Meig. 



1822. Meig. Syst. Beschr. III, 304, 45, Tab. XXX, Fig. 21 (Syrphus). 

 — 1843. Zett. Dipt. Scand. II, 704, 6 et 1849. VIII, 3132, 6 et 1859. XIII, 

 5091, 6 {Scaeva). — 1862. Schin. F. A. I, 301 {Sijrphus). — 1901. Verr. Brit. 

 Fl. VIII, 337, 2, fig. 280 (Catabomba). — 1907. Kat. palaarkt. Dipt. III, 57. 



Male. This species highly resembles pyrastri. Frons a little nar- 

 rower, and hence epistoma with parallel margins, not decreasing in 



