42 THE DIPTERA-BRACHYCERA OF TASMANIA, 



This genus seems to he most nearly allied to Atherix, with 

 which it agrees in having the fi'ont hairy in the male, the 

 posterior tibiae with two spurs, and the closed anal cell. 

 From Atherix, however, it may be at once distinguished by 

 the antennae, wliich have the third joint very small, and pro- 

 duced terminally into a conspicuously thickened arista, the 

 joint and arista merging into one another without any distinct 

 line of demarcation, instead of, as in Atherix, the third joint 

 being large, kidney-shaped, with a long thin arista, which is 

 apparently dorsal. It also difPers from Atherix in having the 

 eyes widely separated in the male, and in the wings being 

 without markings. Tlie antennae bear some resemblance to 

 those of the Siberian genus Omphalophora, but the arista is 

 longer than in that genus, also in Omphalophora the hind 

 tibiae have only one spur. 



Atheeimorpha vernalis, Sp. nov. (Fig. 1.) 



A robust, densely hairv fly. Thorax grey, with three dark 

 stripes; abdomen banded with black and grey; femora and 

 tarsi black, tibiae browidsh. 



Length. Male, 7 mm.; female, 7.5 mm. 



Hab. Bagdad Valley. 



Male. Face and front grey, the latter very long, flat, wide 

 abovp, narrowing gradually to the antennae, and densely 

 hairy. Antennae black, the three joints small and of almost 

 equal breadth, the first being slightly the longest, and the 

 second the shortest of the three ; the arista conspicuously 

 thickened, and nearly twice as long as the three joints 

 together. Vertex with a distinct ocellar tubicle ; back of 

 head puff"ed out behind the eyes, and bearing long black 

 hairs. Thorax grey, vrith three dark lon<ritudinal stripes, 

 scutellum grey, botli densely covered with long black hairs. 

 Abdomen banded with black and grey, the anterior portions 

 of second to sixth segments, and the whole of the seventh, 

 black, tlie remainder grey ; the sides with long yellow and 

 black hairs, the former predominating in the basal half, the 

 latter in a}dcal half. Legs slender; femora and tarsi black; 

 tibiae brownish, with short black bristles. "Wings brownish, 

 with a distinct dark brown stigma. 



Female. The colouring resembles that of the male, but is 

 somewhat lighter ; the eyes are smaller, and more widely 

 separated ; pubescence of the front, thorax and abdomen less 

 dense and shorter ; abdomen long and pointed, and wings 

 almost hyaline. 



This species occurred commonly in the bush surrounding 

 the Bagdad Valley during the Spring seasons of 1911 and 



