HELEOMYZID FLIES NORTH OF MEXICO—GILL yall 
was in North America a form different from the European A. fenestralis 
(Fallén) and described this as a new species, A. canadensis Garrett; 
however, when I examined the type of Blepharoptera specus Aldrich, 
I found it to be identical to Garrett’s A. canadensis and not synony- 
mous with A. fenestralis (Fallén). 
Curran (1926) used the color of the scutellum in his key to Aecothea, 
but I find much variation in this character in both A. specus (Aldrich) 
and A. fenestralis (Fallén). 
Because of the questionable identity of specimens of “fenestralis”’ 
referred to in the literature, I have listed only those states from which 
I personally determined specimens. Johnson (1925) listed Massachu- 
setts and Connecticut also. 
Aecothea specus (Aldrich) 
FIauRes 23, 24 
Blepharoptera specus Aldrich, 1896, p. 189. 
Oecothea canadensis Garrett, 1921, p. 129.—Czerny, 1924, p.90. Newsynonymy. 
I have found no means of distinguishing this species from Aecothea 
fenestralis (Fallén) except by comparing the male terminalia. The 
surstylus of A. specus (Aldrich) is somewhat narrowed distally, 
whereas that of A. fenestralis (Fallén) is about as wide distally as it 
is in the basal half. <A structure which Steyskal (personal communi- 
cation) interpreted as the epiphallus (following Hennig, 1958) is also 
different in the two species. In cleared specimens of A. specus (Ald- 
rich) the posterior end is clearly expanded into a heart-shaped disc 
which is pigmented to about the same degree as the narrower shaft- 
like portion. In A. fenestralis (Fallén) the posterior end is more 
heavily pigmented toward the median line, and the lateral edges of 
the expanded plate are hardly visible in cleared specimens. 
DistriputTion.—Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, 
California, Colorado, Saskatchewan, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, 
Ontario, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, West Virginia, Vir- 
ginia, Maryland; March—September. 
Brotocy.—This species is very common in collections from caves. 
E. C. Carlson has collected the species in traps baited with fish meal 
and fermented syrup (specimens in the collection of the University 
of California, Davis). I have collected adults in traps baited with 
beef liver. 
Remarks.—Aecothea praecor Loew, found in Europe, is very 
similar to A. fenestralis (Fallén) and A. specus (Aldrich), except 
that the eye is smaller. Although the cheek-eye ratio in A. specus 
(Aldrich) is usually between 0.5 and 0.7, I found occasional specimens 
wherein the ratio approached 1.0, thus resembling A. praecor Loew 
