268 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXII, 



with typical Phorid neuration, makes it very probable that all the 

 other genera, which happen to be based on females only, have similar 

 winged males. It is even doubtful whether we should follow the 

 example of Melander and Brues and include all the apterous and 

 subapterous Phoridae in an independent subfamily. If this is in- 

 sisted on, however, the group should be known as the Puliciphor- 

 inae, unless, indeed, we revert to Loew's Psyllomyia tcstacca as the 

 type. In that case, the subfamily should, of course, bear the name 

 Psyllomyinas. 



There is opportunity for some difference of opinion in regard to 

 the systematic position of the singular termitophilous and jjhyso- 

 gastric genera Tcrmitomyia and Tcrmitoxcnia recently described by 

 Wasmann. According to this author they represent an independent 

 family which should be inserted between the Eumyid and Pupiparous 

 sections of the order Diptera. He bases his opinion on his discovery 

 that these insects are protandric hermaphrodites and develop 

 directly, that is, without metamorphosis, from very large eggs. Brues 

 regards these termitophiles as very aberrant Phoridae, allied to the 

 above-mentioned apterous and subapterous genera. While there can 

 be little doubt that the forms in question have arisen from Phorid-like 

 ancestors, it seems to me that the arguments adduced by Wasmann 

 for regarding the Termitoxenidae as a distinct family are not easily 

 set aside. It may be contended, however, that we know nothing as 

 yet of the development of the apterous and subapterous Phoridae. 

 The eggs of some of these insects seem to be very large, like the eggs 

 of the Termitoxenidae, so that it is not impossible that their devel- 

 opment may be ametabolic or at least much abbreviated. This is 

 most probable in some of the extreme forms like Wandollcckia, Piilici- 

 phora, and Mnigmatias . 



The genus Puliciphora remained monotypic till 1903 when Melander 

 and Brues found specimens of a second species (P. occidcntaUs) run- 

 ning on the ground in the immediate neighborhood of Halictus burrows 

 at Wood's Hole, Massachusetts. As in the case of P. lucifcra, only 

 female specimens were taken. I am able to add a third species, 

 which I recently captured in Porto Rico. On March 16, Professor 

 N. L. Britton, Director of the New York Botanical Garden, handed 

 me a large beetle (Strat^gus pilianus Burmeister) which he picked 

 up while we were walking through the streets of Utuado. The beetle, 

 which was nearly dead, was placed in a tin box with a perforated lid 

 and left in my room at the hotel. On opening the box the following 

 day I found that a lot of "crazy ants" {Prciiolcpis longicoruis Latr.), 



