'38 THE DIPTERA l'.il.U !HT( KK A OF TASMANIA, 



orange, remainder black. Wings clouded with blackish- 

 brown, which forms a distinct patch on the outer sido 

 of the small cross-vein; stigma indistinct. 



Female unknown. 



Some variation is shown in the colour of the wings, 

 which, though usually clouded extensively with blackish- 

 brown, are occasionally almost hyaline. 



This species bears a close resemblance to /.. actuotut, 

 but may be distinguished by the shorter abdomen, wholly 

 black femora, and black and orange tibiae. The male 

 occurs fairly commonly settled on the ground in sandy 

 places, but the female is unknown. The former occurs 

 principally in the spring and early summer, my dates rang- 

 ing from October 2 to January 4, but I have once met 

 with it in the autumn as late as April 14. 



24. A n a b a B it eynceu s, Macq. (Fig. 22). 



Robust species, with a broad conical abdomen, eyes 

 widely separated in both sexes, front hairy, and fourth 

 posterior cell of wings wide open. 



Head about the same breadth as the thorax. Proboscis 

 usually lying against the face, but sometimes projecting 

 forwards, in which case it is not very long ; palpi small. 

 Antennae about the same length as the head, the first 

 joint about four times the length of the second, the third 

 expanded about the length of the first, and provided with 

 a conspicuous pointed style. Eyes widely separated in both 

 sexes, but more so in the female than in the male. Front 

 hairy, with, usually, a pair of suffused spots. Thorax 

 much longer than broad, usually longitudinally striped; 

 two pairs of prescutcllar bristles are almost always pre- 

 sent-; scutellum with four long marginal bristles. Abdo- 

 men conical, longer and more pointed in the female than 

 in the male. Legs stout, of medium length. Wings large 

 and broad, usually tinted with brown or yellow, bu1 abso- 

 lutely without markings; fourth posterior cell always wide 



open. 



This genus occupies a similar position in the Southern, 

 to that of Thereva in the Northern, Hemisphere. Like 

 Thereva it contains a number of closely allied species, 

 which are not very easy to distinguish. The principal 

 differences are given in the following table, whilst others 

 will be referred to in the specific descriptions. Consider- 

 able assistance will also be afforded by noting the time 

 of year when a species occurred, as only a limited number 

 are on the wing at the same time. Taking the species in 



