Bombyliidae. 97 



the bee-cell. The species of Argyramoeba have several times been 

 observed flying together with such bees as their larvæ are parasitic 

 upon. 



The species of Argyramoeba are beautiful flies with their black, 

 generally silver-spotted body and their generally blackish variegated 

 wings; they occur on dry, sunny piaces; most of the species are 

 southern forms; of the genus 23 species belong to the palæarctic 

 region, only one has been found in Denmark. 



Remarks. Bezzi (Zeitschr. fiir syst. Hymenopterol. und Dipterol. 

 II, 1902, 192, and VIII, 1908, 34) declares that Argyramoeba anthrax 

 Schranck is identical with Anthrax morio Scopoli, 1763, and that there- 

 fore the present genus should have the name of Anthrax with the type 

 morio Scopoli; this may perhaps be correct, yet 1 shall here retain 

 the name Argyramoeba in accordance with the Kat. palåarkt. Dipt. II 

 (written by Bezzi himself), and also because I must confess, that I 

 am to some degree a partizan of the idea of continuity advocated by 

 Osten Sacken (Wien. Ent. Zeit. I. 1882, 191). 



1. A. anthrax Schranck. 



1781. Schranck, Ins. Austr. 439,893 (Musca). — 1903. Kat. palåarkt. 

 Dipt. II, 170. - 1761. Musca morio Linn. p. p. Fn. Suec. 1784. — 1842. 

 Anthrax sinuata Zett. Dipt. Scand. I, 199,6. — 1862. Argyramoeba sinuata 

 Schin. F. A. I, 53. 



Male. Black; frons with short, erect, black hairs; epistoma bare 

 just below the antennæ, at the lower margin with projecting, black 

 hairs; both on frons and epistoma some shorter, whitish hairs. The 

 inner ey e-margins running parallel from the upper corner a little 

 way out. Antennæ black, the basal joints with longish, black hairs. 

 Occiput slightly haired with depressed, whitish hairs. At the hind 

 margin of the occiput a dense fringe of dark brown hairs. Thorax 

 and scutellum slightly shining, with erect, black hairs which are longest 

 behind and on the scutellum; they are most dense at the front end 

 •of thorax and form here a fringe all round, the foremost hairs in this 

 fringe are white; at the apex of scutellum a small, silverwhite spot. 

 Pleura and sterna black haired. Abdomen slightly shining, with erect 

 black hairs, placed more or less distinctly as a transverse row on 

 oach segment; the hairs are specially dense and tuft-like at the side 

 margins, they are white at the side margin of the first segment. At 

 the hind margin of the second and third segments there are four 

 silverwhite spots, formed of scaly hairs, one on each side and two 

 in the middle; they may in some cases be somewhat confluent to a 

 band; sometimes there are similar spots also on the fourth and fifth 



Diptera Danica. II. 7 



