234 



SYRPHID^E. 



Obscure cinereous. Wings colourless, with a faint brown costal spot. 

 Halteres white. Legs dusky yellow ; femora and middle of hind tibia 

 brown. 



Bare. (E.) In Mr. Holiday's collection. 



FAMILY XXV. SYEPIIID^E. 



SYRPHID^J, Lch. ; Wtw. Syrphice, LI. g. e. ; Lm. ; St. F. et Srv. ; 

 Mq. Syrphii, Mq. SyrpJddes, LI. r. a. SyrpJddia p., Efnq. 

 Syrphici, Fin. ; Ztt. ; Ags. Sclerostoma p., Dmr. Aplocera p., Dmr. 

 Chetolona p., Dmr. SyrpJdna, Nwm. Syrphoides, Bmr. SirpMua, 

 Rdn. 



Proboscis porrecta, basi geniculata, maxillis et palpis basi connatis. An- 

 tennae articulo tertio compresso, arista '6-articulata, articulis pe- 

 nultimis minutis aut indistinctis. Ales lobo axillari rotundato ; 

 vena ambiente nulla, cubitali simplici, spuriis binis; areola altera 

 completa juxla discalem propius apicem, bracliiali utraque et anali ala3 

 dimidium circiter attingentibus. Abdomen segmentis 5 (raro pluri- 

 bus). Tibia3 mutica3. 



Body large or middle-sized ; ovate, oblong, or linear ; more or less 

 covered with short pubescence or soft hairs, very rarely a few stiff 

 bristles intermixed on the thorax ( F'olucella, Chrysoclamis) ; colours often 

 brilliant, sometimes metallic, yellow predominating in the markings. 

 Head about as broad as the thorax ; eyes not touching the peristoma, 

 often meeting on the front in the males, but distant in the females. 

 Occiput concave ; neck ligament very slender, so that the head is ver- 

 satile. Ocelli three in a triangle on the unarmed vertex. Face ample, 

 unarmed ; often elongated downwards or forwards, and gibbous below. 

 Peristoma usually oblong, expanded, with a prominent margin, to con- 

 tain the proboscis when retracted. Mentum developed, membranous, 

 forming a flexible fulcrum jointed at an angle with the porrected pro- 

 boscis. Labella pouting, fleshy. Labrum stout, strongly notched on 

 each side near the tip. Palpi slender, more or less connate with the se- 

 taceous maxilla?, their relative length being variable, rarely very minute 

 (Microdon). Antennae porrected or drooping, the third joint large, 

 bearing on its upper edge, but rarely at the extremity (Ceria, Callicera), 

 the slender terminal joints which form the arista or style ; these nor- 

 mally are three, but the first two are very short, and often become in- 

 distinct. Thorax rather depressed ; the mesosteraum little sloped, not 

 entirely concealed by the fore coxa3 ; suture before the wings, inter- 

 rupted in the middle ; scutellum rather large, usually semicircular, over- 

 hanging the metathorax. Lips of metathoracic spiracles, and a twisted 

 filiform appendage on each side between them and the base of the 



