298 On new Genera and Species of MusclJae. 



blood-sucking flies, which form a remarkable connecting- 

 link between the ordinary non-biting Muscinai and the 

 Stomoxydinae. In the case of species belonging to the latter 

 group the slender chitinized proboscis (labium) is thrust 

 bodily into the skin of the animal or human being on which 

 the fly is feeding, and so forms a piercing organ. In Phila- 

 matomyia, however, there is no actual piercing organ, since 

 the fleshy termination of the proboscis is obviously incapable 

 of being thrust into the skin of a vertebrate, and the fly 

 feeds by cutting through the epidermis of its victim by 

 means of the powerful teeth at the end of the tubular exten- 

 sion, and then sucking up the blood in the ordinary way. 



Philcematomyia insignis, sp. n. 



cJ ? . — Length, ^^ (17 specimens) 3 to 5-8 mm., ? (25 



specimens) 4 to 65 mm. ; width of head, S 1"3 to 2'2 mm., 



? 1*4 to 2"25 mm. ; width of front in centre, ^ 008 to 



0-2 mm., $ 06 to just over 1 mm.; length of wing, (J 3 to 



5*5 mm., ? 3"2 to 5*6 mm. 



Smoke-grey to isabelline grey, or yellowish grey ; dorsum of 

 thorax with four dark longitudinal stripes, broader and clove- 

 brown or blackish in S > narrower and dark grey or brownish 

 in ? , c? often icith an additional, broad, median stripe, most 

 distinct in front and behind ; dorsum of abdomen with a truyis- 

 versely elongate dark blotch on first segment, not reaching hind 

 margin, and a small clove-brown median triangle at base of 

 second and third segments, in some specimens also with a 

 similar but smaller and usually lighter mark at base of fourth 

 segment ; all hair and bristles on head, body, and legs black ; 

 palpi ochraceous-buff ; wings hyaline or ivith a slight ochra- 

 ceous tinge, veins in proximal half buff or ochraceous-buff' ; 

 legs black, femora greyish poUinose. 



Head: posterior orbits, front, and face yellowish grey or 

 silvery grey, occiput dark grey ; frontal stripe clove-brown 

 in (J, greyish clove- brown in ^ , '\n ^ extremely narrow, 

 often reduced to a mere line above, but expanding somewhat 

 below, in ? broader though still narrow, its sides nearly 

 straight, and its width scarcely exceeding and often distinctly 

 less than that of sides of front ; upper inner margins of eyes 

 converging slightly at vertex in ? ; bulb of proboscis shining 

 clove-brown ; antenna dark brown, tip of second joint nar- 

 rowly ferruginous, third joint greyish, arista and its hairs 

 dark brown, tip of arista cinnamon-rufous. Thorax : outer 

 dark stripes on dorsum not reaching front margin, narrowly 

 interrupted on transverse suture, and behind scarcely ex- 



