MILESIIXJE. 227 



serrate. Anterior cross-vein at or beyond midcile of discal cell, 

 usually very obli(iae ; 3fd vein generally straight or slightly 

 sinuous, rarely with a loop recalling that of Eristalis (some 

 species of Jlilesia). 



Tlie MiLiosiix.i: are essentially a tropical group, the typical 

 genus mainly inhabiting South Asia. But 1 have never been 

 quite convinced as to the distinctness of the subfamily from the 

 ERiSTALiNiE : it rests principally on the courae of the 3rd vein, 

 this being only slightly sinv;ous instead of deeply looped into the 

 1st posterior cell. The position, too, of some of the genera 

 has been more than once questioned. Sericomyvt and Arctopliila 

 are admittedly somewhat aberrant, and Verrall hints at a separate 

 subfamily for them. These two genera are akin by the conically 

 produced frons to both the SyrphiNjE (through Bhimjia) and 

 the VoLUCELLiN.i:, their conspicuously plumose arista agreeing 

 with that of the latter subfamily and their venation (like that of 

 Syrphus) resembling the venation of the former; the anterior 

 cross-vein is at most at and not beyond the middle of the discal 

 cell, whilst the abdominal markings are also frequently of the 

 Syrphine type. 



Eumerus, too, is somewhat abnormal, the venation and general 

 appearance being very like those of the Pa m^/tts- group in 

 SYRPHiy-i; ; both Parar/us and Eumems are, according to Verrall, 

 probably connected in some way with the smaller aculeate 

 Hymenoptera *. 



Table of Genera. 



1. Arista conspicuously plumose 2. 



Arista bare 3. 



2. Densely pubescent species; abdomen [p. 289. 



without yellow bands Arctophila, Schiu., 



Thinly pubescent species ; abdomen with [p. 291. 



conspicuous yellow bands Sericomyia, Meig., 



3. Mavprinal coll closed Milksia, Latr., p. 2G3. 



Marginal cell open 4. 



4. Anterior cross-vein before middle of 



discal coll ; (hind femora without pro- [p. 228. 



cess below) Myiolkpta, Newm., 



Anterior cross-vein at or after middle of 

 discal Cell; (hind femora with or with- 

 out process below) 5. 



5. Epistome conspicuously produced, snout- 



like ; very densely pubescent species; 

 (hind femora without any process 



below) (i. 



Epistome not conspicuously produced, 

 never snout-like; face with or without 

 central knob, not more than normally 

 produced at u])p('r nioutli-edgo ; coni- 

 parutivcly bare species (except lirndnj- 

 jmlpus) ; ( bind femora with or without 

 a ])rocess bebnv) 7. 



* Brit. Flies, Syrpliidiu, pp. l.'>0, 61.'): but see also pp. 31, 248 of this 

 present volume. 



q2 



