DIPTERA 



FAM. PHORID/E 



by Chari.es T. BRUES 



WITH 2 lOLOl KF.n l'L.\IES 



jli.THouGH a coiisiderable numbei of Phoiidie have been described during the past few 



years, our knowledge concerning the extent of the family is still very meagre. The forms 



occurriiig in Europe and North .\merica are tolerably well known, but those of less 



accessible regions have not been so thoroughly collected as most other famiHes of Diptera. 



The generic relations of the family seem to be very similar in the most widely separated geogra- 



phical regions, so that in .spite of its necessarily prehminary character. 1 hope that the following account 



will prove of some service to future students of the group. 



The first species to be described vvas the Miiscn aterrima of Fabricius {Sysi. Eiit. \ol. 4, 

 p. 334 f 1794J). The genus Phora was erected by Latreille in 1802 (Hist. Nat. Criist. et lus. \'o\. 3. p. 464) 

 with this species as type. ()ne year later Meigen estabhshed Trineura in Illiger's Magaziiie. \o\. 2, 

 p. 276 (i8o3) writh the same species as type, but later (i83o), seeing that Trineiira was a svnonym, 

 withdrew it and put all his species under Plwra in his Systematisclu Beschreibuiig. Since aferrima is not 

 congeneric with the species later added to Plwra. the strict appHcation of the rule of priorit\ would 

 necessitate the removal of Triiieiiia to substitute Plwra in its place. I have always hesitated to throw the 

 Hterature of over a centur\- into confusion by such a needless change, and have retained thc naines in 

 their usual sense. 



In 1823 Fallen described a number of species (Di/>t. Siiec. Phytomyzides) most of which have been 

 snice recognized In iS38 Meigen added many of the more common European species in vohime 7 of his 

 Systematische Beschreibuiig d. europ. ziveifliigel. Iiisekteii (Diptera). Soon after. Macquart described a few more 

 in his Histoirc Natuielle des Dipteres (i835). Most of these have unfortunately not been recognized since. 

 Zetterstedt (Ins. Lapp. and Dipt. Scand. [1840-1848]) reviewed many of the previously described forms 

 and added a few inore. 



