﻿244 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. loo 



five smaller, weaker teeth arising ventrad of the plates on each side. 

 Pentad hairs well developed, all arising from basal tubercles ; hair 1 a 

 stellate tuft of about 15 spikes ; 2 and 4 long and simple, 3 triple or 

 multiple, 4 multiple. Siphon heavily pigmented, dark, index from 

 2.5 to 3, lower surface convex, upper convex at base and concave 

 beyond middle, apex about one-half width at base ; dorsal and dorso- 

 lateral surface with 8 to 12 single, double, or triple short spikes ar- 

 ranged irregularly, apical spike hairlike; ventral surface with a pair 

 of 3-branched tufts at base, followed by a bare space, then with 6 to 10 

 tufts arranged irregularly in one row or in a partial double row, each 

 tuft with two or three barbed branches; a strong apicodorsal hair; 

 ventral siphonal valve hair simple. Pecten of four or five simple 

 teeth, usually restricted to basal two-thirds of siphon. Anal segment 

 with large, incomplete, darkly pigmented saddle, posterior margin 

 with about 20 sharp teeth ; saddle hair usually triple ; ventral brush of 

 anal segment reduced to a pair of tufts, each with four or five branches ; 

 dorsal brush very long, hairs barbed, ventral subcaudal tuft simple, 

 dorsal with five or six branches ; gills short, upper pair 1.5 as long as 

 lower, slightly longer than saddle, rather sharply pointed. 



Taxonomic discussion. — T. soloraonis is a typical member of the 

 atriyes-gvow^ of the subgenus Mimeteomyia since it has unornamented 

 head and femora, only narrow, outstanding wing scales, the proboscis 

 stout and shorter than the abdomen, the male palpi almost as long as 

 the proboscis, and the female palpi about one-sixth the length of the 

 proboscis. The larvae of this species are similar to those of the other 

 members of this group in the possession of both mesothoracic and 

 metathoracic spines and the comb arising from a lateral sclerotized 

 plate. 



In addition to solomonis three other species are placed by Lee in 

 the atripes-grou]) : atripes (Skuse), punctolateralis (Theobald), and 

 digoelensis (Brug). T. digoelensis, according to Brug's (1934) 

 description, appears quite distinct from the rest in the absence of 

 prescutellar bristles, the presence of yellow spiracular bristles, and 

 the conformation of the lobes of the ninth tergites of the male, as well 

 as the shape and the position of the bristles on the lobes. The sep- 

 aration of the other three species is extremely difficult as all three are 

 apparently quite variable, even the ninth tergite showing no distinc- 

 tive characters. The most reliable character is the coloration of the 

 scaling of the body and appendages. T. punctolateralis is light 

 colored, the head is fawn, the posterior pronotum entirely white- 

 scaled, the scutal vestiture pale brown, the scutellar scales light, the 

 basal third of the male palpus whitish ; there is some pale scaling on 

 the proboscis of both sexes, and the white lateral markings on the 

 abdomen are more extensive than in the other two species. T. atripes 



