176 ERNEST A. BACK. 



middle before and on the humeri, appears golden, and over the base 

 of the wings when viewed from before, shining white; pleura; brownish 

 pruinose; the fine pile and few bristles of dorsum and on the posterior 

 margin of scutellum black. Halteres dull yellowish-red. Abdomen 

 polished, blue-black, slightly whitish pruinose on sides and at base 

 and with whitish pile along sides. Legs dark yellowish-red, coxae 

 black with a whitish bloom; the femora darker than the tibia;, the 

 latter not banded with black, although in some cases with indications 

 of such; tarsi reddish, terminal segment blackish. The arrangement 

 of the most prominent bristles of the tibia; and tarsal segments is 

 peculiar; when viewed from above, each of the first four tarsal seg- 

 ments bears a prominent bristle on the middle of each side, those on 

 the fourth segment being quite short; there are on each side of the 

 tibia; three or four bristles similarly placed and about as distant from 

 each other as are the bristles of the several tarsal segments. There are 

 other smaller bristles upon the legs, but the above mentioned are most 

 prominent. Pulvilli present. Wings dark brownish hyaline, atten- 

 uated at base, allulae absent; but four posterior cells present, the vein 

 separating the third and fourth being gone; anal cell closed and 

 petiolate; the auxiliary cell narrow. 



Type. — American Museum. A single female. 



Habitat. — South Amboy, N. J. 



One will notice that in general the above description agrees 

 quite closely with that oi.minuta. As the habitat of the two 

 species is so widely different (though not a real barrier to 

 their identity), together with the fact that the description of 

 minuta is very meager, and my specimen does not have the 

 black thoracic stripes and has a different coloration of the 

 legs, I have described it rather minutely as new. As the type 

 is at the American Museum it will be easily accessible. I have 

 not seen the type of minuta. 



Townsendia minuta. 



Townsendia minuta Williston, Kans. Univ. Quart., IV, 107, 



1895. 



Townsendia minuta Williston, Biologia, Dipt., I, 307, PI. V, 



fig. 19, 1895. 



" % . — Length 3.5 mm. — Black, front and face thickly white pruinose, 



mystax white. Antenna; black. Mesonotum opaque yellowish-white 



with a broad median stripe and a spot on each side, brown. Pleura; 



thinly whitish pruinose. Abdomen polished black, the first segment 



whitish pruinose, the pile along the sides of the anterior segments 



white. Legs yellowish-red, the fore and middle femora above, the 



