﻿SOME ALASKAN SYRPHID FLIES — FLUKE 41 



hick a lingiila, the penis sheath has rough corrugations on the sides, 

 and the styles are more slender than in true Syrphus. 



EPISTROPHE COMPOSITARUM (Verrall) 



Si/rphus compositarum Verraix, Ent. Monthly Maj?., vol. 9, p. 254, 1873. 

 Epistr'^phe compositarum Ft.uke, Ent. Amer., vol. 15, p. 45, 1935. 



In 1935 I doubtfully recorded this species as North American on the 

 basis of a single specimen from Newfoundland. The present collec- 

 tion contains nine females from Matanuska, Alaska, that do not ap- 

 pear to differ materially from European specimens. The thorax, 

 liowever, is a trifle more shining, and the bases of the four front tibiae 

 are somewhat paler. 



SYRPHUS RIBESII var. JONESI, new name 



Syrphus similis Jones (nee Blauchaid), Ann. Ent. Soc. Araer., vol. 10, p. 224, 

 1917. — Fluke, Trans. Wisconsin Acad. Sci. Arts and Letters, vol. 28, p. 69, 

 1933. 



I propose jonesi as a new name for this rather distinct variety of 

 ribesii. It occurs only in the female. There are six representatives 

 of this variety from Alaska. 



SYRPHUS VITRIPENNIS Meigen 



Syrplms vitripennis IMeigen, Syst. Besclir., vol. 3, p. 308, 1822. — Fluke, Trans. 

 Wisconsin Acad. Sci. Arts and Letters, vol. 28, p. 70, 1933. 



Apparently this is a new record for Alaska. The collection includes 

 four females from Haines, August 1945, collected by J. C. Chamberlin. 



METASYRPHUS PERPLEXUS (Osbum) 



Figure 10, c 

 Syrphus perplexus Osbukn, Journ. New York Ent. Soc, vol. 18, p. 55, 1910. 



This species is represented by 20 females. They are, however, con- 

 siderably darker than typical perplexus, especially around the mouth. 

 With these females is a single male that is the same in all essential 

 details except that the eyes are distinctly hairy. The pile is short but 

 quite evident. Several of the females also show a few" scattered hairs, 

 but nearly all species of this group have at least a few short hairs on 

 the eyes. These specimens may represent a true subspecies or variety. 



METASYRPHUS LUNIGER (Meigen) 



Syrphus luniger Meigen, Syst. Beschr., vol. 3, p. 300, 1822. — Vebball, British Syr- 

 phidae : British Flies, vol. 8, p. 385, 1901. — ^Lundueck, Diptera Danica, pt, 5, 

 p. 307, 1916. 



The specimens from Alaska that I tentatively assign to this species 

 are much darker than those taken in Europe (facial stripe, pile of 



