376 



CONOPID^. 



along the inner ej'^e-mavgins ; antennae wholly black, under side of 

 2ud joint and basal half of 3rd sometimes (type) dark reddish- 

 brown with a silvery-white shimmer ; occiput blackish-grey ; 

 proboscis black, nearly twice as long as head. Thorax dark ash- 

 grey, closely beset with short bristly black hairs, and having a 

 pair of median, well separated, narrow blackish stripes, barely 

 reaching anterior margin ; three intermediate, very narrow, 

 darker lines ; and an indefinite spot on each side on the inner side 

 of the humerus. Pleurae rather ligliter grey, bare except for 

 about six small black bristles on the sternopleura. Scutellum 

 and metauotum coucolorous, the former with numerous stiff hairs. 

 Abdomen ash-grey, with soft black hairs which are longest towards 

 the sides of the 2nd segment : genitalia inconspicuous. Legs dark 

 ash-grey, considerably hairy ; under side of femora on apical half, 

 knees and base of tibiae, orange ; rest of tibiae light grey with 

 whitish reflections ; inner side of hind pair blackish ; tarsi and 

 claws black, pulvilli orange. Wings with 1st posterior cell 

 distinctly open ; 3i'd vein practically straight from anterior 

 cross-vein to wing-tip ; uniformly pale grey, yellowish at base ; 

 halteres orange. 



Lsngth, 7 mm. 



Described from two d" 6 (one being the tgi^^ of the species) 

 from Mussoorie, ix. 1906, in the Pusa collection ; and one (tgpe) 

 2 in the British Museum from Simla, ix. 1898 (Mirse). 



Genus SICUS, Scoj). 

 Stcus, Scopoli, Ent. Carn., p. 1004 (17G3). 



Genotype, Conops ferrugineus, L.* 



Head large, broad, semicircular ; ocelli present ; f rons and face 

 prominent; cheeks descending in profile to about half the height 

 of the eyes. Antennae with 1st joint rather short, cylindrical, 

 bristly ; 2nd cup-shaped, bristly ; 3rd slightly shorter than 2nd, 

 oval, with broadly rounded tip ; arista dorsal, thickened at base. 

 Proboscis kneed at base and at middle, about three times as long 

 as head ; palpi extremely short. Occiput barely produced behind 

 upper part of head, but much produced in its lower half, with 

 bristly pubescence. Ihorax approximately square, with rounded 

 corners, fairly well arched ; scutellum semicircular. Abdomen 

 narrower but longer than thorax, longer in $ » w^H curved down- 

 wards ; sexual organs similar to those of allied genera. Legs 

 and ivings as in Myopa. 



Bange. Europe, Sikkim, North America. 



Life-history unknown. 



Very like Myopa in general appearance, differing practically 

 only in the less depth of the cheeks below the eyes. 



* Coquillett claims to have designated this species as type, but Schiuer in 

 ]862 was apparently the first to recognise the genus, which had been ignored 

 or overlooked for nearly a century, as distinct from Myojya. 



