ART. 13 AMERICAN GENUS MICROPHTHALMA ALDRICH ^ 



6. Scutellum with three pairs of lateral bristles; large species, 12 to 13 mm. 



long (U. S., widespread) michiganensis Townsend. 



Scutellum with two pairs of lateral bristles ; small species, 6 mm. long 



shannoni Towuseud. 



MOCROPHTHALMA NIGRA Macquart 



Microphthalma nigra Macquart, Dipteres exotiques, vol. 2, pt. 3, 1843, p. 242.— 



WiLLiSTON, Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, vol. 13, 1886, p. 306. 

 Microphthalma sordida Giglio-Tos, Boll. real. Univ. Torino, vol. 8, No. 147, 



1893 ; Mem. Accad. Sci. Torino, ser. 2, vol. 44, 1894, p. 63. 

 Microphthalma pruinosa Coqtjillett, Canad. Entomologist, vol. 34, 1902, p. 200. 



The original locality was " North America." Giglio-Tos described 

 sordida from Toluca, Mexico, not far west of Mexico City. Coqiiil- 

 lett described pi^uinosa from New Mexico and Chihuahua. For 

 Davis's reference to pruinosa^ see uiichiganensis. 



Both the second and third antennal joints are longer in the males 

 than in the other species; the first joint is produced in a scale as 

 noted in the key, and the third joint becomes black just beyond the 

 arista. Ocellar bristles are present in all specimens examined. 



The material in the National Museum comprises 12 specimens 

 including type and paratype of pruinosa; the others are from Hell 

 Canyon, Manzano National Forest, New Mexico (Townsend) ; Cloud- 

 croft, New Mexico (W. Knaus) ; Mount Lemon. Santa Catalina, 

 Arizona, 7,800 feet (collector unknown, the specimen belongs to the 

 American Museum of Natural History) ; Coapa. Federal District, 

 Mexico, and Atzcapco, Mexico (E. G. Smyth) : and Volcan Santa 

 Maria. Guatemala (Schaus and Barnes). 



Twelve additional specimens were later collected by the writer on 

 the Polochic River near its head, Alta Vera Paz, Guatemala, May 25, 

 1926. The species was very abundant, and only lack of time pre- 

 vented the collection of a still larger number. 



Length, 9.4 to 11.4 mm. 



Macquart mentioned the color of the antennae very clearly, which 

 ajDparently fixes his species. 



MICROPHTHALMA DISJUNCTA Wiedemann 



Tachina disjuncta Wiedemann, Analecta Ent.. 1824. p. 45: Auss. Zweifl. 

 Insekten, vol, 2, 1830, p. 295. 



MiltogramwM trifasciata Say, Journ. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila.. vol. 6. 1S29. p. 

 174 ; Complete Works a'oI. 2, p. 365. 



Trixa upicaUs Walker, List Dipterous Ins. in Brit. Mus., vol. 4, 1841», p. 899. 



Tachina trixoides Walker, List, etc., vol. 4, 1849, p. 760. 



Microphthalma disjnncata Coquillett, Revis. Tachinidae, 1897, p. 138. — Aus- 

 ten, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. 19, 1907, p. 327 (syn. of apicalis) . — 

 Adams, in Willistous Manual, 1908, p. 370, fig. — Townsend, Muscoid Flies, 

 1908, p. 54. — Aldrich, Annals But. Soc. America, vol. 8, 1915, p. 82. — Davis, 

 Bull. Illinois Nat. Hist. Survey, vol. 13, 1919, p. 78.— Greene, Proc. U. S. 

 Nat. Mus., vol. 60, 1922, p. 11, fig. 



