600 SCENOPINID^ 



and this happens so often that there must he some regular cause for 

 it ; can it be done in pairing ? It may easily be distinguished from S. 

 niger in the male sex Ijy the touching eyes and simple hind tibiae, while 

 both sexes may be known by the extensively reddish or brownish legs. 

 >S^. glal)rifrons, which has been incorrectly recorded as British, has the 

 eyes almost touching in the male, but has the frons brightly shining and 

 very little (if at all) punctulate in either sex. 



S. fenestralis is not uncommon on windows, especially in stables, 

 mills, and such like localities. The larva was at one time supposed to 

 feed on stable clothing and old carpets especially when thrown into a 

 heap and neglected, whence the perfect insect obtained the name of 

 " Carpet Fly." It is now however known to be predaceous and to feed 

 on the larvse of the Clothes Moth (Tinea pellionella) or of the Pulicidce which 

 are the real culprits, and consequently it is a benefactor instead of being 

 injurious; two females occurred in my garden at the end of June, 1901, 

 on Asparagus. I have numerous records from Cornwall to Bristol, 

 Herefordshire, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, but at present I know of no 

 trustworthy records further north, except that I know a species of Sccno- 

 pinus occurs in AVarwickshire ; my dates extend from June 5 to August 

 11. The females are apparently much commoner than the males. It is 

 recorded from all Europe and from North America. 



Synonymy. — Although numerous names have been given to various varieties 

 of this species I have nothing fresh to note, except to express a doubt as to the 

 validity of some of the recently described species. I may however state that the 

 specimens upon Avhich I recorded *S'. glahrifrons Meig. as British were only specimens 

 oi S. fenestralis in which the frons was rather shining; at that time I had never 

 seen the true ^S'. fjlahrifrons., which seems to he confined to Southern Europe. 



2. S. niger DeGeer. Legs blackish except on the tarsi. Frons rather 

 shining. Eyes of the male widely separated. Hind tibite of the male very 

 much dilated. 



A rather small very black oblong fly. 



$. Frons at the vertex occupying nearly one-fifth the width of the head and 

 gradually widening down to the antennae where it is nearly one-third the 

 width of the head, shining black, very little punctate but with a very large 

 rather shallow almost circular depression below the middle which almost 

 reaches to the sides, and sometimes with a narrow longitudinal middle furrow 

 in_ addition ; the sides of the depression are slightly roughened ; pubescence only 

 microscopical ; when viewed from above a whitish band extends on each side 

 of the_ antennae down the. eyemargin but is only caused by whitish dust 

 reflections ; jowls small, but bearing some dark pubescence ; back of the 

 head with a shining black raised eye-collar on the upper half which begins 

 very thin about the middle but becomes considerably raised at the upper eye- 

 angle ; vertex obviously sunk forward between the eyes, and the ocellar space 

 elevated. Eyes bare ; facets all equal. Antennae brown, practically bare ; 

 two basal joints short, about equal in length; third joint nearly three times 

 as long as the two basal joints together and about three times its own breadth, 

 slightly thickened about its middle. 



Thorax black, rather shining, but roughly punctate striate. Pubescence 

 ubiquitous but consisting of only exceedingly minute adherent yellowish 

 bristles. Scutellum with more erect pubescence. 



Abdomen shining brown or brownish black, with sparse and faint 

 punctuation ; the white transverse bands at the hindmargins of the fourth 

 and fifth segments are conspicuous but narrow out before reaching the side- 



