1880.] ^H 



in this group, and he made a new genus i"i)i" their receptiDH, which he 

 named Morellia ; he failed, however, to characterize the different 

 species satisfactorily, and it was our own countryman Haliday who, 

 retaining R. Desvoidy's generic name Morellia, first clearly separated 

 the two common species which had been previously confounded. His 

 account will be found in the Entomological Magazine for 183G. Mac- 

 quart had previously (in 1883) described a well-marked smaller species 

 in his " Diptercs du nord de ]a France," which he named curvipes •* 

 and he also noticed that there was another resembling M. hortorum, 

 but he only noticed slight differences in colour, and copied R. 

 Desvoidy's descriptions, which w^ere too vague to be of any value. 

 Dr. H. Loew fully described both the common species as well as 

 another in 1S57, and Professor Rondani also gave an account of them 

 in 1862 ; but none of the authors I have mentioned agree as to the 

 names which they give to the two common species, nor which of them 

 should retain Fallen's original name. Walker, in the " Insecta Britan- 

 nica," ignored Haliday's paper, only giving one species ; and, as the 

 descriptions of the latter author in the Entomological Magazine are 

 very brief, and not now generally accessible, I hope it may not be 

 without interest if I endeavour to describe the four species now in- 

 cluded in R. Desvoidy's genus, and try to clear up the synonymy. 



The larva; of the two common species have been found in cowdung. 



Genus MORELLIA, R. Desv. 

 Eyes naked, arista plumose, fourth longitudinal vein of wing bent 

 outwards towards the third, in a rounded curve, so as nearly to close 

 the first posterior cell, which terminates a little before the apex of the 

 wing ; posterior or discal transverse vein placed midway between the 

 anterior or little cross vein and the centre of the curve of the fourth 

 longitudinal vein. Shining blue-black flies, striped and tessellated with 

 black and white, with the antennae, palpi, and legs black. The species 

 in this genus are coloured and marked in a very similar manner to 

 Aricia alho-Jineata (one of the AntTtomyiidcp), with which they must 

 not be confused. 



The species may be thus distinguished : 



A. Hind metatarsi with a cushion of short stiff hairs on their under surfaces, but 

 not bearded, and hind tibiae straight, or only slightly curved. 



B. Middle tibiae without a basal tubercle in the males. 

 C. Hind tibiae straight, fore tibiae simple. 



Sp. 1 — SIMPLEX, Loew. 



* This speciee has not been recorded as British, though it is not uncommon in England. 



