ABT. 9 FLIES OF THE FAMILY SYRPHIDAE SHANNON 17 



Type locality. — Santa Inez, Ecuador (R. Haenseh). 

 Type. — In British Museum. 



MALLOTA ABERRANS, new spcties 



This is not a typical species of Mallota but it seems to possess no 

 characters of sufficient importance to make a separate genus for it. 

 It may be easily recognized by its rather short yellowish pile and a 

 pair of pale transverse spots on the second tergite. 



Female . — Head rather broad and flat; eyes bare; front clothed 

 with yellow and black pile: antenna normal, brownish; arista yellow- 

 ish; face shining black, deeply concaA^e, tubercle prominent; face 

 bluntly produced downward, the sides with pale pollen and pile; 

 thorax with black and yellow pile intermixed, the yellow predomi- 

 nant; bases of femora yellow becoming brownish beyond; apex of 

 hind femur yellow ; hind femur moderately swollen with spines and 

 black bristly hairs beneath; tibiae j^ellowish brown, tarsi l)row^nish; 

 abdomen dark in ground color, clothed Avith reddish yellow pile; a 

 pair of transverse pale spots on second tergite; Avings subhyaline 

 Avith a faint cloud in middle. Length 11.;-) mm.; Aving 9.5 mm. 



One specimen. 



Type Zom??'?'//.— Paltaybamba, 5.000 feet, Peru (August 27, 1911, 

 Yale Peruvian Expedition). 



Type.—Q^t. No. 28788, U.S.N.M. 



Subfamily Microdontinae 



The JSlicrodontinae of the American tropics seem to have almost 

 unlimited variation in form and color and this, combined Avith the 

 large number of species occurring in this region, makes the group a 

 very perplexing one. 



There are numerous structural differences in the gronp, seemingly 

 Avell fitted for generic uses, and at first consideration it would appear 

 that the genus Microdon (to Avhich most of the species of the sub- 

 family belong) is a complex one that should be divided into several. 

 The characters, hoAvever, do not lend themselves to this purpose as 

 they do not include natural groups and frequently they appear to be 

 of onl}^ specific importance, or are shared in common only by a few 

 closely allied species. 



One small group (about ten species) possesses a type of habitus 

 which is so similar to the appearance of the stingless honey bees 

 (THgona) of the American tropics that they may easily be mistaken 

 for them at first sight. But aside from the habitus, they seem to 

 have no structural character in common by which they might be con- 

 sidered a distinct genus. 



18121—27 3 



