166 



STRATIOMYID^ 



Synonymy. — The genus Sargus, as established by Fabricius in 1798, was formed 

 for five species of which ^S*. ctqwarius was the first (and the only one left in the now 

 restricted genus), though tlie next three belong to closely allied genera of the 

 Sarginan. The first dismemberment was made by Macquart, who formed a genus 

 Chrysomyia in 1834 for our present Chloromyia and Microchrysa, thougli Macquart 

 had full knowledge of a prior Dipterous genus Chrysomyia of his fellow-countryman 

 Desvoidy (1830), and in 1837 Duncan, in probable ignorance of what Macquart had 

 done, proposed for identically the same group the name Chloromyia ; the remaining 

 species allied to S. cuprarius and ^S*. hipunctatus were again divided by Loew in 1854 

 (Verb. zool. bot. Wien., v., 146) into genera, of which one was proposed for S. 

 bipunctatiis under the name of ClLrysonotus, which was supposed to be distinguished 

 by the equidistant ocelli, as contrasted with true Sargus in which the front ocellus 

 was remote from the other two ; I have found myself unable to recognise this 

 distinction, and to me Sargus Jlavipes and its allies seem to be much closer to S. 

 hipunctatus than to <S'. cujn-arius and its allies ; other writers seem however to have 

 recognised a distinction, and finding a supposed prior generic name of Chrysonotus 

 (Swainson, Aves, 1837) have proposed a substituted name of Chrysochroma 

 (Williston, 1896) or Chrysonotomyia (Hunter, 1900); perhaps it would have been 

 better if they had first tested the validity of Loew's genus, and then, if convinced 

 that it was worth retaining, an examination might have been made into the validity 

 of Swainson 's genus, as the mere record of a name in a " Nomenclator " is not 

 evidence of its having been properly founded ; for my part I fail to recognise the 

 validity of Loew's genus and therefore have not troubled about its name. In 1907 

 Bezzi (Wien. Ent. Zeit., xxvi., 53), upon the mere statement of an Index Animaliuni 

 that a genus Sargus had been described in 1792, imposed the name Geosargus in 

 substitution of Fabricius' genus ; in the absence of any proof that a valid genus 

 Sargus was established in 1792 I positively declme to accept this change. 



*/ 



Table of Species. 

 Males. 



1 (6) Legs nearly all orange. No outstanding postocular fringe present 



(fig. 136). 



2 (5) Large species. 



*3 (4) Abdomen with some golden orange 

 pubescence on the disc. 



1 lipunctatus. 

 (3) Abdomen with only greyish brown 

 pubescence on the disc. 



2 albibarhus. 



5 (2) Small species. 5 minimus. 



6 (1) Legs nearly all black. 



7 (12) No outstanding postocular fringe 

 present (fig. 136). 



*8 (11) Thorax mainly orange haired down 



the disc. Legs orange from the 



knees for some distance down the 



tibiae, and at the base of the tarsi. 



*9 (10) Abdomen with the short red-orange pubesence (as distinguished 



from the long yellow pubescence) almost confined to the 



sidemargins. Thorax usually black haired on the hind part 



of the disc. 3 Jlavipes. 



* Unsatisfactory distinctions. 



¥iQ.\Z(>. —Sargus hipunctatus $. x 22. 



