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Family PSYCHODID^E. 



The members of this family are all very small moth-like flies, 

 closely covered with thick bristly hairs which extend to the legs, 

 the wings also invariably being closely hairy. Scales, too, form 

 an important part of the vestiture, being generally present on 

 the legs and wings and on other parts of the body. 



Head small, narrower than the thorax, set low down on the 

 latter, arched, in some genera considerably developed posteriorly. 

 Frons broad in both sexes. Eyes kidney-shaped, bare ; ocelli 

 absent. Proboscis rather short, inconspicuous (PsYCHODiis"^) or 

 long and comparatively prominent (PHLEBOTOMISE). Palpi in- 

 curved, four- or five-jointed. Antennae comparatively long, if 

 bent backwards reaching the hinder part of the thorax ; usually 

 of 15 or 16 joints (rarely 12) ; the two basal joints differentiated, 

 the flagellar joints more or less lengthened, with verticillate hairs. 

 Thorax convex, often greatly arched, densely pubescent in all 

 parts. Scutellum rounded, very small and inconspicuous ; meta- 

 notum well developed. Abdomen moderately arched, cylindrical, 

 only a little longer than the thorax, six-, seven-, or eight-segmented ; 

 segments in PSYCHODIS^E somewhat compressed, the abdomen 

 much more elongate in PHLEBOTOMLSE ; in all the species covered 

 with close thick hairs. Genitalia of the male consisting of two 

 (PSYCHODISE) or three (PHLEBOTOMIN^E) pairs of appendages ; 

 in the female, of a horny, slightly curved, pointed ovipositor 

 (PSYCHODLS^E) or withdrawn within the body (PHLEBOTOMISE). 

 Legs rather short (PSYCHODINYE), or moderately long (PHLEBOTO- 

 MI:N"JE) ; metatarsus often much lengthened ; claws small ; pulvilli 

 often rudimentary. Legs thickly pubescent, with more or less 

 bristly hairs, generally with closely applied scales also, with bands 

 or circlets of larger scales in many species. Wings moderately 

 broad, elongate or lanceolate in PHLEBOTOMIKJE, broad or very 

 broad in PSYCHODINJE ; the veins always with at least two rows 

 of divaricate depressed bristly hairs ; the surface of the wing very 

 often also covered with similar, but finer hairs. Scales normally 

 present, either covering considerable portions of the wing, or 

 forming small spots. In PSYCHODIN^B in a state of repose the 

 wings are held down close to the sides, the costal margin lower- 

 most, which gives them some resemblance to small pubescent 

 homopterous insects, as well as to very small moths. 



In Phlebotomus they are held in a semi-upright position, whilst 

 in Brunettia they are spread out flat. Auxiliary vein very short, 

 1st longitudinal long ; 2nd longitudinal forked, the upper branch 

 again forked ; 3rd vein long, simple, always originating before the 

 middle of the wing and ending at the tip of the wing or just 

 below it ; 4th forked, 5th and 6th simple, long ; 7th present, long 

 , absent, or extremely short, in PHLEBOTOMISE. 



