148 STR AXIOM YID.?: 



as the short second joint and by the still longer outspread third joint, 

 which is usually simply strap-shaped, but which has a broad heart- 

 shaped terminal knob in the subgenus Alliocera (fig. 12S). The 

 species frequent Umbelliferse and other flowers in the neighborhood of 

 large marshes or fens, and are not at all shy, and are so quiet that they 

 can even be taken by the fingers off flowers. 



Stratiomys is composed of a considerable number of species which are 

 said to occur over most parts of the world. When Schiner published his 

 Fauna Austriaca Diptera (1862) only about nine species were satisfactorily 

 known as European, but since then several new species have been detected 

 and others have been distinguished, while one may safely say that a large 

 number of species have been manufactured upon the most slender dis- 

 tinctions, until forty-six or (including Hirtea) forty-nine so-called species 

 are enumerated in Bezzi's Katalog der palsearctischen Dipteren (1903); 

 most of these new species were described from various parts of Asia even 

 to China and Japan and many of them may be good species, but I 

 believe that a large number of them are founded on very trivial variations. 



Synonymy. — The genus >S'^ra<^omys (mouche armee) was founded by GeofFroy 

 in 17H4, and for seventy -four years was accepted without any demur except for the 

 dismemberment of Odontomyia. In 1838 Macquart emended the spelling to 

 tStratiomyia hecanse of its obvious derivation, and in 1842 Zeller suggested the 

 new name of Hoplomyia. I have not accepted any change of the original spelling, as 

 I consider such classic words as Stratiomys, Nemotelus, Bibio, Scatopse, JVemocera, 

 etc., exempt from emendation because of their antiquity and long-continued use : 

 further than that, if emendation is to commence with such a word as Stratiomys I 

 fail to see any finality until Stratiotomyia (as proposed by Kye in 1879 and by 

 Lynch Arribalzaga in 1883) is adopted, and finally the quibblers can contend that 

 none of Geoffrey's generic names were properly founded because he did not use them 

 in accordance with the binomial system. Strict priority -mongers have found another 

 bugbear in Hirtea, which Scopoli (1763) founded upon *S^. longicornis, and they would 

 have contended that that name should supplant Stratiomys but have salved their 

 consciences by forcibly and quite unnecessarily making a separate genus for ;S'. 

 longicornis. For my part I decline to accept any suppression of the time-horiored 

 name of Stratiomys in favour of Sfratiomyia, Stratiotomyia, Hoplomyia, or Hirtea. 

 Again, as to Hirtea, if anybody can recognise a genus founded upon the following 

 characters it is more than I can do : 



" Hirtea. Os armatum rostro uniseto : seta canaliculata obtusa : vagina 

 " retractUi, apice labiata, basi palpigera." These words are meaningless to me, and 

 it is only by a very great exercise of faith that I can accept Scopoli's specific 

 description as applying to our well-known S. longicornis, and I have almost felt it 

 my duty to continue the name of ;S'. strigata which was used uninterruptedly for 

 seventy years before Walker's unfortunate resurrection ; the patriotic zeal _ of 

 Schiner accepted Walker's identification just at the time when he was dealing 

 systematically with the Diptera of Europe, and consequently his successors have 

 been influenced, though I observe that Brauer in 1882 still retained the name 

 strigata, and therefore refused to accept the identification of the genus Hirtea. 



Rondani's attempt to form two genera, distinguished by hairy eyes {Thyreodonta) 

 or bare eyes {Stratiomys), must fail wlien such species as S.furcata occur in Avhich the 

 eyes of the male are hairy but those of the female quite bare. I also consider 

 Alliocera only a subgenus, as I believe the terminal joints of the antennae will not 

 give good generic characters, and in some cases not even specific as is instanced in 

 S. nnguicornis Becker and in the varying subdivision of the fourth joint of the 

 flagellum in S.furcata. 



For the characters of suggested subgenera see page 129. 



