128 



STRATIOMYIDtE 



The essential characters of the Strati omyi nee lie in the small number 

 of segments of the rounded abdomen, in the presence of the small (or lower) 

 cross- vein whereby they are distinguished from the Clitcllarince and 

 Pachygastrince, and in the absence of any long thin terminal arista 

 whereby they are separated from the Sargincc. The peculiar crowding 

 of the stronger wing-veins towards the costa affords a distinct character 

 pertaining to this and the preceding subfamilies, and it is possible that 

 their separation is undesirable. 



The Stratiomyince comprise about a dozen genera and occur in almost 

 all parts of the world. Six genera and about seventy species are included 

 in Kertesz's "Katalog der Paliiarctischen Dipteren," but probably 

 only the two genera Stratiomys and Odontomyia need be retained, as the 

 others may be considered subgenera; about thirty of these species are 

 Asiatic. I have included only nine species in this work as undoubtedly 

 British, but other species of Odontomyia have been recorded and possibly 

 two or three of these may occur with us. 



Talle of the Uuropean Genera of Stratiomyin^. 



1 (2) Basal joint of the antennae short, usually about as long as the 

 second joint but sometimes twice as long. 5. Odontomyia. 



Subgenera : — 



1 (4) Subcostal and radial veins distinct; discal cell 

 with two or three issuing veinlets (fig. 126). 



Fio. 120. — Odontomyia ornata S- X 7. 



2 (3) Eyes hairy, Psellidotus. 



3 (2) Eyes bare. Odontomyia. 



4 (1) Subcostal vein apparently anastomosed with the 

 radial ; discal cell with scarcely more than one issuing 

 veinlet (tig. 127). Hoplodonta. 



Fig. 127. — Odontomyia viridula S • x 10. 



iV.7>. — Exochostovia Macq. was probably founded upon 

 some injured specimens of Odontomyia argentata. 



