254 Records of the Indian Museum. [ Vox. 258, 
species with 8, 2, 2, 2 specimens, and I specimen, respectively, 
but all in bad condition. 
Note on Ceria. 
The name Ceria is of far too old standing to be changed 
now. Verrall (British Flies, Syrvphidae, 665) enquires into the 
alleged synonymy and substantiates its retention, it having stoud 
unchallenged since 1794. I cannot but agree with ‘‘ continuity 
before priority ’’ as did both Osten Sacken and Verrall, two of the 
greatest systematic dipterologists of recent times. The retrograde 
nature of the changes of the names of nearly all the old familiar 
genera (involving in many cases the change of the family name 
also!), as suggested in Kertesz’s addenda to Vol. VII of his 
otherwise admirable catalogue of the world’s diptera, consequent 
on the proposed adoption of the names of genera in Meigen’s 
paper of 1800, is incalculable, and it is most unfortunate that 
some dipterologists have followed this lead. 
The names in question were given up by Meigen himself in a 
further paper in r803 and even this latter paper was regarded by 
him as wholly preparatory, since he hardly ever referred to either 
paper, as recorded by Verrall (British Flies, Stratiomytdae, 285) ; 
sothat itis a poor compliment to him who has well been called the 
father of European diptera to ignore his wishes in the matter. 
Moreover, as Williston, Aldrich, and others have pointed out 
no species were accorded to any of the generic names in Meigen’s 
‘* 1800 paper ’’, so that on that score alone they are quite in- 
admissible. All the names of well-known genera in diptera which 
have stood unchallenged since the days of Meigen, Schiner, 
Zetterstedt, Macquart, Loew, Walker and their contemporaries, 
and more especially still, those which give their names to families 
or subfamilies must be regarded, in the best interests of zoology, 
to be beyond the sphere of priority, and exempt from change or 
modification through any cause whatever, and personally I shall 
most rigorously refuse to accept any such alterations. 
The only way to obtain ultimate finality in nomenclature is 
rigidly to establish it now by upholding all time-honoured names 
and by ruthlessly ignoring the present fevered craze in some 
quarters for change. 
Subfamily CHRYSOTOXINAE. 
Chrysotoxum sexfasciatum, Brun. 
Only the @ was described by me of this species (Rec. Ind. 
Mus., ii, 89). A o@ has since been acquired by the Indian 
Museum taken by Dr. Annandale at Simla, 9-v-ro. It agrees 
closely with the ? but is brighter and more lemon yellow in 
colour, the eyes are absolutely contiguous for the normal distance, 
the facial stripe is brownish ; the hind femora have a pale brown 
broad band at the tip, the hind tibiae with a narrow brown 
