36 TABANID^. 



Genus I. TABANXJS. 



TABANUS, Fin. d. s. (1817) ; Mg. ; Mq. ; Ztt. ; Ct. ; Zll. Tabanus p., 

 L. ; Fb.; LL; Wd. 



Corpus magnum, oblongum, pubescens. Color niger, pubescentise 

 cinerascens aut subflavescens, raro obscurus. Ocelli nulli. Palpi 

 maris capitati, foeminae subulati. Antennae 7 -articulate, subretusae : 

 articulus primus cylindricus, subclavatus, apice truncatus ; secundus 

 cyathiformis ; tertius compressus, supra excisus. Ala divaricate ; 

 areola analis retracta. 



Body of large size, generally black-brown or tawny, pubescent. 

 Head semicircular. No ocelli. Mouth porrect, as long as the head. 

 Labrum small, long, slender, lanceolate, linear on each side. Lingua 

 small, thin, channelled, pointed. Maxillas long, slender, acute. 

 Palpi hairy, biarticulate, curved inward ; first joint short, somewhat 

 clavate. Labium large, thick, cylindrical, hairy. Antennce 1-jointed, 

 not longer than the head : first and second joints bristly ; second shorter 

 than the first ; third notched or forked above ; flagellum long, com- 

 pressed, curved upward ; fourth joint longer than the following, which 

 are small and cylindrical ; seventh pointed. Thorax large, subqua- 

 drate, slightly rounded on each side, somewhat convex, and generally 

 striped above, having before the base of each wing a slight swelling 

 or indentation, from whence a deep transverse line extends to the 

 middle of the disc, and then ceases ; a crooked fold on each side 

 before the scutum, and in the middle a like one, which encloses a 

 small part of the thorax. Wings lanceolate, finely pubescent, diverging ; 

 anal areolet closed far from the border. Tarsi short. 



Male. Upper region of the eyes composed of large facets. Second 

 joint of the palpi short, capitate. 



Fern. Mandibles horny, flat, knife-shaped, pointed, seated on the 

 under base of the labium, by which they are covered. Second joint 

 of the palpi long, attenuated. 



These flies frequent woods during the summer ; they are com- 

 paratively scarce in England, but very abundant in warm countries. 

 Their flight is accompanied by a humming, which varies in dif- 

 ferent species. Those with hairy eyes appear to be chiefly northern. 

 The fork of the vein between the cubital and submarginal areolets 

 is a constant character of the two last and somewhat aberrant 

 species, and it occasionally, but rarely, occurs as an irregularity 

 in the structure of some of the preceding kinds. The genus 

 may be divided as follows : 



. Vein between the cubital areolet and the submarginal areolet simple. 

 b. Eyes bare. 



c. Abdomen with one stripe. Species 1. 



