390 rLATYPEZTD.T:. 



rue out a few from Holland, but they were rendered useless in 

 transit, apparently through the box being ocieued by the Censor 

 and insecurely re-packed. The only discrepancy between the 

 Coonoor specimen and Verrall's figure (' British Flies,' v, fig. 51^ 

 p. 29) is the presence in the former of the bristle near tlie hind 



Fig. 38. — Lonchoptcra lutea, Panz., $ . 



corners of the dorsum of the thorax, in a line with the hindermost 

 pair of dorso-centrals. This bristle is not showji in Yerrall's 

 figure. 



Three other forms of Lonclioptera have come before me, of which 

 one is very striking, but it has unfortunately been accidentallj^ 

 damaged. The wings bear a conspicuous black band. The body 

 is wholly black, the antennae and legs yellow, the fore tibiae and 

 tarsi quite black. A single $ from Kumaon in the Pusa collection. 



Family PLATYPEZID^. 



Head large; face small, broad, depressed down the middle in 

 both sexes. Eyes bare, large, contiguous for a considerable dis- 

 tance in S with enlarged upper facets; wide apart in J. Antennae 

 3-jointed, short; arista long, bare, apical. 



Thorax subquadrate, somewhat arched, not pubescent, but Avith 

 a few chaetotactic bristles, which are more distinct in the 5 ; 

 pleurae bare; scatellum with marginal bristles. 



Abdomen narrower and generally longer than the thorax ; 6- or 

 7-segmented ; genitalia in S moi-e or less incurved. 



Legs (except in one non-Oi'iental genus, Opetia) with hind 

 tibiae dilated townrds tip, and hind tarsi considerably dilated on 

 first three or four joints. 



JFinr/s with a characteristic venation, peculiar to this family;, 

 auxiliary, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd veins Ions and nearly straight; 4th vein 

 simple or forked, turned upwards towards tip in Platypeza and 

 ending in wing-margin shortly but distinctly below tip of 3rd vein, 

 so that the Ist posterior cell is always open ; 5th and Gth veins- 

 straight, simple. Discal cell present or absent; basal cells short;, 

 anal cell always longer than 2nd basal, even if only slightly so. 

 Squamae of moderate size ; halteres large. 



The females of many species are of quite different coloration 

 from the males, showing conspicuous, brightly-coloured markings- 

 on the thorax and abdomen. 



