316 LEPTID^ 



This species is easily distinguished in the male from P. ohscura by the 

 long bristly hairs on the two basal joints of the antennae, and in both 

 sexes by the absolutely bare side-cheeks; the only other known European 

 species with similar antennse is P. nigrina Whlbg., but that has the side- 

 cheeks conspicuously pubescent. P. atra appears to be slightly smaller 

 than P. dbscura. 



P. atra was first known to me as British from two males which were taken 

 in May 1904 at Aberlady in Haddingtonshire by the Eev. Jas. Waterston. 

 Colonel Yerbury took a male at Brodie in Elgin on June 5, 1905, and seven 

 males and a female at Porthcawl in Glamorgan on May 18, 1906, which 

 he recognised at the time, but though he made repeated searches for more 

 specimens (in which I joined him on June 10) it was without success. 

 The Porthcawl specimens occurred on short herbage near a shallow pool 

 right out in the sand-hills, and the Aberlady specimens apparently in 

 similar but more marshy ground. Mr J, E. Malloch took a male at 

 Bonhill in Dumbartonshire on June 9, 1906; there was also a male (under 

 the label of Ptiolina unicolor) in the collection of the late Mr C. W. Dale; 

 and it is possible that Walker correctly identified it when he intro- 

 duced Ptiolina nigm Zett. as British (List Brit. Mus. Dipt., i., 1153), 

 though a very bad representative now in the British Museum looks like a 

 female P. ohscura ; Walker recorded P. ohsa/ra at the same time, but in 

 his Insecta Britannica Diptera (1851) he did not mention either species, 

 and furthermore gave an entire misconception of the genus Ptiolina. 



Synonj/m-j/. — Zetterstedt described this species in ]842 as "Ptiolina niffra. Stteger 

 " in litt. 1838" and '' Sjyania atra SttBg. in litt. recentioribus Hafnise, 6 Nov. 1841. 

 It is obvious that Staeger at this later date considered his genus Ptiolina a synonym 

 of iSjxmia, and that consequently his suggested name of nir/ra had to be altered in 

 the face of Sjmnia 7iujra Meig. (1839). The genera are so closely allied that I prefer 

 to adopt Stseger's own recommendation of the name atra. Zetterstedt's original 

 description is not very recognisable and Avas subsequently admitted to be a mixture 

 of P. atra and P. nigrina. In the revised description given by Wahlberg in 1854 I 

 Avas at first misled by the term " palpis dilatatis," but I now believe that Wahlberg 

 referred to the whole palpus as distinguished from that of his P. nigrina with 

 " palpis apice dilatatis, '" and consequently I feel no further doubt about the 

 identification of our British species. 



8. SPANIA. 



Spania Meigen, Syst. Beschr., vi., 335 (1830). 



Small, almost bare, dull black flies. 



Head semicircular ; face (including the wide side-cheeks) short, bare, and shining ; 

 frons bare, broad and shining in the female ; ocellar knob very much elevated in 

 botli sexes. Eyes touching for the middle third of the distance between the occiput 

 and the antenn;e in the male, but widely separated in the female ; facets considerably 

 and abruptly enlarged on the upper part in the male. Antennte (figs. 207, 209) 

 placed well above the middle of the head ; basal joint very small and in the male 

 easily overlooked ; second joint larger though still transverse in the male and almost 

 so in the female ; third joint pubescent, considerably longer and larger than the 

 second on its ovate or almost oblong basal part, and in the male produced on its 

 lower part (fig. 207) in a way which resembles a long stout but tapering pubescent 

 style, or in the female (fig. 209) more equally produced into a long style-like 

 projection which is stouter, less tapering, and even more pubescent. 



Thorax and scutellum with very short pubescence ; pleurae bare. 



