SYSTEMATIC ACCOUNT. 65 



(A. L. Melander); Nelson (A. L. Melander), Kaslo (R. P. Currie), British 

 Columbia. Recorded in Europe from the Faroe, Canary, and Madeira 

 Islands to Sweden, Austria, Egypt, and Corsica. 



Scaptomyza vittata Coqtiillett. 1895. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 47 (as Drosophila). 



Specimens examined: Biscayne Bay, Florida (Mrs. Slosson); Herradura 

 (C. W. Metz), Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba; Yallahas Valley, Jamaica 

 (Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, coll.) ; San Jose, Costa Rica. Coquillett recorded 

 the species from Porto Rico. I have seen the specimen in the U. S. National 

 Museum, and am unable to convince myself that it is the same species, 

 though it may well be so. 



I have also seen specimens of Scaptomyza from Peru and from Argentina. 

 The latter at least were not S. vittata. Czerny (1903, Wien. ent. Zeit., 22) 

 has seen the genus from Mexico. 



Drosophila Fallen. 1823. Dipt. Suec. Geomyz., 2, 4. 



Arista plumose; vibrissse and ocellars present; three orbitals, lowermost proclinate, 

 upper two reclinate, middle one smaller than the others (second one placed a trifle below 

 the third in D. alahamensis); postverticals large (missing in D. dubia); one or more hu- 

 merals; one presutural; two notopleurals; two supra-alars; two postalars; one to three 

 sternopleurals; mesopleurse bare; two dorsocentrals (one in D. superba); prescutellars 

 usually absent (present in D. sigmoides, D. floras, and species similar to each, represented by 

 large hairs in D. repleta and other forms); two pairs of scutellars, posterior ones crossed; 

 disk of scutellum bare; costa twice broken, reaches apex of fourth vein; two small bristles 

 just before distal costal break (one in D. immigrans); discal and second basal cells con- 

 fluent; anal cell present, often incomplete; preapicals evident at least on third tibiae; 

 acrostichal hairs in six or more rows in front of transverse suture (four in D. opaca), four 

 or more between the anterior dorsocentral bristles. 



The name Drosophila (Greek; Spocros, dew, and 0tXi7, lover) means "dew- 

 lover." This is apparently the reason for the German name "Taufliege." 

 These names are purely fanciful, as the flies are not in any special way dew 

 frequenters. There seems to be no corresponding English term. In Eng- 

 lish the names fruit fly, pomace fly, sour fly, and vinegar fly are sometimes 

 used. Fruit fly is not a desirable term, as it is commonly restricted to the 

 Trypetinae, a very different subfamily, many of the larvae of which feed on 

 growing fruit. Pomace fly and vinegar fly both imply a very much narrower 

 range of normal food habit than actually occurs. The technical name, 

 Drosophila, has already become established in biological literature, so that 

 it seems desirable to use it for the common as well as the scientific name. 



Many of the best-known genera of Acalypterae were established by Fallen 

 in his "Diptera Suecise" — e. g., Sciomyza, Lonchcea, Sapromyza, Sepsis, 

 Piophila, Notiphila, Psilopa, Ephydra, Agromijza. Among these was 

 Drosophila. This genus was described for the following twelve Swedish 

 species, all described as new except one. The present status of those 

 species no longer considered to belong to Drosophila is also given. 



D. curvipennis Fallen (to Stegana). D. tristis Fallen. 



D. variegata Fallen (to Phortica = Stegana). D. fusculaFaWen (to Diastala — Geomyzinse). 



D. funebris Fabricius. D. cinerella Fallen. 



D.fenestrarum Fall6n. D. flava Fallen (to Scaptomyza). 



D. transversa Fallen. D. grandnum Fallen (to Scaptomyza). 



D. obscura Fallen. D. glabra Fallen (to Camilla). 



The third of these, Musca funebris Fabricius, was designated by Curtis 

 (1833, Brit. Ent., p. 473) as the type species. 



Table 8 shows approximately the number of described species that may 

 be taken as probably valid members of the genus. All those described by 

 Walker and by Hutton have been omitted unless recognized later by other 



