290 Records of the Indian Museum. [Voi.. IV, 



(/. €., p. 370) are referred to a new genus, closely allied to the 

 recently established BruncUia, Annandale, but of these species, no 

 further specimens have been seen of squamipcnnis and argenteo- 

 punctata. 



Four genera are recognised here in the Psychodinae Psychoda 

 and Pericoma, which never possess conspicuously scaled wings and 

 co«s/)/cw6iMs chaetae together in the same species;' and Brunettia 

 and Parabrunetlia (the latter, new) in which both scaled wings and 

 tolerably or very conspicuous chaetae on the flagellar joints of the 

 antennae are simultaneously present. I am still much in doubt, 

 however, as to the limits of both these latter genera. 



Eaton's genera are, to my thinking, untenable,^ yet the 

 group of species with thickly scaled, broad wings, generally with 

 hairs closely covering the surface also, and with distinct chaetae 

 on the flagellum, seems a well-defined one ; all of these possess the 

 venation of Psychoda except super stes, which, being the first 

 species described, must remain t^q^ical of Brunettia. 



At the present state of our knowledge it appears to me that 

 it will eventually be found that the three genera Psychoda, 

 Pericoma and Parabrunettia all possess some species with and 

 some species without : (i) areas of conspicuous extent on the 

 wings covered with scales ; (2) hairs on the surface of the wings 

 in addition to those on the veins ; and (3) some species with the 

 2nd longitudinal vein forking before (proximad of) the origin of 

 the 3rd longitudinal vein whilst other species have the fork 

 beyond (distad of) the origin of the 3rd vein. None of these can 

 by any means be regarded as generic characters, but serve ver}^ 

 well as primar}^ divisions of the species into groups. 



The genital organs have not occupied much attention hitherto, 

 but Dr. Annandale is engaged to some extent on their examina- 

 tion. In dried specimens their exact observation is always 

 difficult. 



The presence of the spiral chaetae (so conspicuously devel- 

 oped in Brunettia superstes) in Psychoda distincta, Pericoma spini- 

 cornis and margininotata , though much inferior in size, affords 

 a further point on which to separate or substantiate species, 

 but they must not be regarded as of more than specific value. 

 Dr. Annandale has also discovered in Psychoda bengalensis and 

 nigripennis a previously overlooked peculiarity in the shape of a 

 pair of very small bifid chaetae on each joint (except the last) of 

 the flagellum, having the appearance of two pairs of cow's horns. 

 They may, quite possibly, be present in some other species, but 

 require very minute examination, being almost transparent. 



1 " Conspicuous " is emphasized, as very small chaetae (differing only in size 

 from those in ParabruneUia), are found by Dr. Annandale to be present in some 

 species of Pericoma. They appear to be absent in most species of Psychoda. 



2 A number of genera in Psychodidae, created on variations of scales on the 

 wings, seems wholly undesirable, as tending to reduce the family to the level of 

 taxonomic absurdity at present happily to be found only in the Culicidae. 



