AMERICAN DIPTEKA. 359 



ment of the arista, which is black. Palpi yellow. Post-ocular cilia stout, black, 

 the lowest three or four, which are below the. eye, being stout and twice as long 

 as the others. Thorax yellow, paler below and brownish above except for a 

 rather wide dorsal vitta. Dorsum subshining, with a single pair of dorsocentral 

 macrochsetse and two marginal scuteilar bristles. Abdomen yellow, first two 

 segments each with a large, quadrate, very sharply defined, lateral spot 'some- 

 times absent on the third segment). The spots on the second segment each bear 

 a tuft of small black bristles at the middle. Ovipositor black at extreme base. 

 Legs yellow, each coxa with a few stout bristles at the apex, together forming a 

 stiff hackwardly directed brush. Femora wholly pale, the posterior ones deeper 

 yellow. Tibiae, especially the posterior pair, spinulose above; four posterior 

 tibiae each with a single apical spur, that of the middle leg very long, half as 

 long as the tibia. The posterior tibia? have a fine black line above, and their 

 tarsi are bilineate with black externally. Wings yellowish, faintly dusky at the 

 tips, veins fuscous; costal vein thickened medially, reaching to the middle of 

 the wing, its cilia of medium length; third vein furcate; tip of first vein mid- 

 way between the humeral vein and tip of third vein. Four equally distinct 

 lighter veins present, 



Besides the original types from Texas, 1 have a specimen from 

 Opelousas, La. (Hough); one from Florida; two from Delaware 

 Water (lap (Johnson) ; and one from North Mt., Pa. (Johnson). 



This is a very distinct species by the form of the front and frontal 

 cheatotaxy. The abdominal coloration is also very characteristic, 

 and seems to he quite constant. The species has been bred from 

 the egg cocoons of the spider Epeira. 



Aphioeltieta pygmwa Zett. (Plate iv, fig. 26.) 



Zetterstedt, Dipt. Scand., vii, 2860. 



Egger, Verhd d. k.k. zool.-bot. Ges.. 1236 (1862) 'brachyneura) . 



Schiner, Fauna Austriaca, ii, 344 [brachyneura). 



Strobl, Phoriden Oesterreichs, 196, 11 (brachyneura). 



Becker, Monog. Phoridse, p. 49. 

 Male. Thorax and abdomen black, brown, reddish or yellow. Dorsum of tho- 

 rax with short, fine, black hairs and two scuteilar bristles. Halteres yellow. 

 Head yellow or dark brown ; the front opaque, gray pollinose. Antennae vary- 

 ing from yellow to brown, the third joint of only medium size, with an almost 

 bare arista. Palpi pale, with the usual bristles. In the lighter specimens the 

 abdomen is considerably darkened above or has wide blackish bands anteriorly 

 on the segments. Legs yellow, varying to blackish brown, the tips of the hind 

 femora blackened. Hind tibise lined with black and very finely ciliate. Wings 

 and veins weakly yellowish brown. Costal vein with rather long cilia, reaching 

 to only one-third the length of the wing; the first vein ending very close to the 

 second, so that the first segment of the costal vein is three or four times as long 

 as the second. 



There are three specimens from Moscow, Idaho (Aldrich) ; one 

 from Palo Alto, Cal. (Stanford University) ; and a number from 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC. XXIX. NOVEMBER, 1903 



