LASIOPTICUS. 67 



his riglits. It would have been better to have defined Eondani's 

 genus* more closely by adding tlie characters of the inHaled 

 trons and the enlarged facets of the upper part of the eyes in 

 the d ; these being apparently stable characters, whereas the 

 jiubescence of the eyes in this group is not a generic character. 

 Si/rphm contains species with distinctly pubescent eyt-s in both 

 sexes, others with the eyes moderately hairy in the c? and almost 

 bare in the 5 , and still others with quite bare eyes in both sexes. 

 Lasiopticns in Kondani's sense has pubescent eyes only, but if 

 Catahomha be regarded as synonymous with it, the genus will then 

 contain bare-eyed species also, since Verrall notes (Brit. Flies, 

 Syrph. p. 333) a species from North America in Bigot's collection 

 with bare eyes. Ischyrosijrphus also contains hairy-eyed and 

 almost bare-eyed species ; whilst the genera Xantliogramma, Sch., 

 and Olhiosyrphun, Mik, are only separated by the bare eyes of 

 the former contrasted with the pubescent eyes of the latter, and 

 an intermediate species might be considered to unite the genera 

 An American writer (R. C Osburn, Journ. N. Yk. Ent. 8oc. xviii, 

 p. o^, 1910) suggests the suppression of the genus Catahomha. 



Of the two Indian species of this genus, L. seleniticus has the 

 abdominal spots comparatively narrow and curved upwards at the 

 inner ends, whilst L. latimaculaius has them very broad and oval. 



54. Lasiopticus seleniticus, Jleir/. (PI. II, fig. 2.) 



Si/rphus seleniticus, Meigen, Syst. Beschr. iii, p. 304, pi. xxx, fi"-. 21 

 • (18i'2). 

 Catahomha neloiitica, Verrall, Brit. Flies, Syrph. p. 3.37, iip. 280, 



abd. (1001). 

 Syrphiix liDiulatus, Wiedemann, Aiiss. Zweifl. ii. p. 121 (1830). 

 Lasiophthicus annamites, Bigot, Ann. Soc. Ent. France, (6) v, p. 2o0 



(1885). 



S 2 . Head, S '■ eyes with dense whitish pubescence, which is 

 sparser on under side ; closely contiguous for a short distance ; 

 vertical triangle small, black, with black or blackish-brown hairs; 

 ocelli ruby-red ; frons and face orange-yellow, generally a little 

 deeper on former, which bears conspicuous black pubescence; 

 space above untenna? blackish- or orange-brown ; face with parallel 

 sides from lev(d of antennic downwards, in width considerablv 

 more than one-third of head; with shortiM- black |)ubescence which 

 becomes yellow on lower part; an irregular blackish-brown stripe 



* A siiuiliir ciisc to ilie present one came before me recently in 'J'ipumd.k 

 regiircling tlie genns Trent cpohlia, Big. Thi.s wns only " cliarncterised " by its 

 incliiaion in a table containing genera belonging to two otlier subfamilies of 

 TiPi'LiD-fi, and a genua each of Di.xin.i; and M vCKToi-ini.n).!;, bcsidea otlier 

 wholly unrelated genera of Tiruun.K. Ifowevor. Bijot had stated a type- 

 species and Edwards aftervvarda sufUciently cliaracteri.sed the genus, so I 

 suppressed my genus Moiiqo7ni(>i(fcx (erected on Bigot's typo of Treiitepohfia), 

 though I still ciiiim that (lie nomination of a type-species dnea not constitute 

 the diagnosis of a genus. 



