116 EMPID.E. 



Mas. Abdomen brevius ; anus obtusus, appendiculatus. 

 Fcem. Abdomen longius ; anus vaginatus. 



Body black, small, soft, pubescent. Head small, semicircular. 

 Eyes contiguous; facets rather large. Ocelli 3, on the crown. Pro- 

 boscis projecting, hardly perpendicular. Labrum narrow, curved, 

 tubercular at the base, as long as the labium. Lingua slender, curved, 

 somewhat longer than the labrum. Labium cylindrical. Antennae 

 5-jointed, porrect, approximate at the base, diverging upwards ; first 

 joint very short ; second small, cylindrical ; third long, obclavate, com- 

 pressed, pubescent ; fourth very short; fifth sty late, curved upward. 

 Thorax gibbous. Wings oblique, finely pubescent, incumbent and 

 parallel in repose. Halteres uncovered. Abdomen long, cylindrical, 

 pubescent. Legs slender; coxte shorter than the femora; hind legs 

 long. 



Male. Tip of the abdomen obtuse, with 2 short points. 



Fern. Tip of the abdomen acute. 



The Cyrtoma appear in spring and summer, and inhabit 

 herbage in woods and fields. 



1. spuria, Mn. d. s. emp. 33. 43 (1815); Zit.atra, Mg. ; Mq. 

 Atra, opaca, pilosa, alisnigricantibus, halteribus fuscis. Long. 1^-lf ; 

 alar. 3^-3 lin. 



Deep black, hairy, not shining. Wrings blackish ; veins black. 

 Halteres dark brown. Abdomen cylindrical, nearly twice the length 

 of the thorax. Legs hairy; hind tibiae slightly clavate; hind tarsi 

 slender. 



Generally distributed. (E. I.) 



2. nigra, Mg. zw. iv. 3. 2 (1824); Mq. ; Ztt. Nigro-fusca, 

 opaca, pilosula, antennis nigris, alls pedibusque fuscis. Long, li-lf ; 

 alar. 2^-3 lin. 



Brownisk-black, clothed with a few hairs, not shining. Proboscis, 

 palpi, and antennas black. Wings brown, large. Abdomen rather 

 more than twice the length of the thorax. Legs dark brown, rather 

 hairy ; hind tibire dilated ; first and second joints of the hind tarsi 

 long, dilated. Male. Halteres dark brown. Fern. Halteres pale yellow. 



Generally distributed. (E. I.) 



3. meleena, Hal. e. m. i. 158 (1833). Mas. Atra, alis cinereis, 

 femoribus ferrugineis, tibiis posticis subclavatis. Fcem. Nigra, alis sub- 

 limpidis, tibiis posticis gracilibus. Long, li ; alar. 3 lin. 



Hind tibiae longer than in the two preceding species. Male. Deep 

 black. Wings grey. Femora ferruginous ; hind tibiae slightly clavate. 

 Fern. Black. Wings almost colourless. Hind tibiae very slender. 



Rare. In Mr. Haliday's collection. (I.) 



