AMERICAN DIPTERA. 353 



moderately arched, almost always with three black or reddish 

 stripes on the dorsum, which are destitute of the short stiff, 

 sparse hair that covers the rest of the dorsum, except for a 

 narrow line of hair which divides longitudinally the median 

 stripe; bristles well developed on the humeri, posterior cal- 

 losities, scutellum, a transverse row over the base of the wings, 

 and two short rows before the scutellum, between the median 

 and lateral stripes; scutellum always with two bristles. Ab- 

 domen elongate, stout or more slender, not contracted toward 

 base (except in male of ternata), with short, appressed hair, 

 and, on sides of first segment, with stout bristles. Legs long, 

 quite slender, the front tibias with a terminal claw-like spur; 

 coxae with bristles, longest and most dense on the fore pair; 

 rest of legs with short, appressed, rather sparse, stiff hair and 

 bristles ; pul villi of all the legs equal in length, but little shorter 

 than the claws. All the submarginal and posterior cells except 

 the fourth wide open, the third very broadly so; the fourth 

 always closed, usually at some distance from the wing margin; 

 anal cell closed at the margin. 



Type. — -Deromyia gracilis Rond. — (Williston.) 

 Saropogon and Deromyia are much alike and to use the words 

 of Dr. Williston, are separated by the "more elongate form, 

 the more slender abdomen and legs of the latter, and by the 

 fourth posterior cell being always closed and usually long 

 petiolate." The fourth posterior cell of Saropogon when closed 

 either is closed on the margin or with a very short peduncle. /^ 



SYNOPSIS OF SPECIES.* ' [] 



1. Dorsum of thorax with three deep velvety black stripesf 8. 



Dorsum of thorax without the three stripes velvety black, though 

 sometimes very dark 2 . 



* This table does not contain the California species pulchra, for I 

 am not certain whether the fresh specimens have velvety black stripes 

 or not. This table is only a help toward the identification of this 

 difficult genus. Considerable variation exists, especially in the color 

 of the thoracic stripes. 



t These thoracic stripes are three in number: one median and 

 usually bisected longitudinally by a paler line; the lateral stripes are 

 usually bisected or interrupted at the transverse suture so as some- 

 times to appear as two spots. 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC, XXXV. (45) SEPTEMBER, 1909 



