294 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS [XXXI, '20 



A New Species of Dixa from Argentina 

 (Dixidae, (Dipt.) 



By Charles P. Alexander, Urbana, Illinois. 



Species of the family Dixidae from the South Temperate 

 Zone are very uncommon. The only other species known is 

 D. chilensis Alexander,* from Chile. The following species 

 was taken in association with several interesting species of 

 Tipulidae that are recorded elsewhere. 

 Dixa argentina, sp. n. 



Rostrum obscure yellow; head black; mesonotum with three velvety 

 black stripes, the anterior lateral margins yellow; pleura largely dark 

 brown; knobs of the halteres brown; wings dusky, a conspicuous brown 

 spot at r-m; abdomen brownish black. 



cf . — Length about 2.3 mm.; wing, 3.2 mm. Rostrum obscure yellow; 

 palpi dark brown. Antennae setaceous, black, the scapal segments 

 slightly paler. Head black. 



Mesonotum yellow on the antero-lateral angles; disk with three velvety 

 black stripes, the interspaces dark brown; median stripe not reaching 

 beyond midlength of the sclerite; remainder of the mesonotum black. 

 Pleura yellow with a very broad brownish suffusion that covers all the 

 sclerites with the exception of the sternum and the dorso-pleural mem- 

 branes. Halteres dark brown, the base of the stem yellowish. 



Legs with the coxae and trochanters light yellow; femora light brown, 

 the tips narrowly blackened, most conspicuous on the posterior legs; 

 tibiae and tarsi dark brown. 



Wings with a strong dusk> tinge, the costal and subcostal cells slightly 

 more yellowish; a large brown cloud at r-m; veins dark brown. Vena- 

 tion: Sc ending just beyond the origin of Rs; Rs straight, very slightly 

 sinuate, in direct alignment with i?^+^; R^+^ only moderately arcuated, 

 much shorter than either R^ or R^; r-m at the fork of Rs; m-cu opposite 

 •or slightly before r-m. 



Abdomen brownish black, the sternites a very little paler. 



Habitat: Argentina. Holotype, cf, La Granja, Alta Gracia, 

 -Province de Cordoba, April i-8, 1920 (Charles Bruch). 

 Paratopotype, cf. Type in the collection of the author; 

 paratype in the collection of the Museu La Plata. 



Dixa argentina bears a certain resemblance to D. centralis 

 Loew of the United States but the details of coloration are 

 very distinct. The types were collected by my friend, Dr. 

 •Charles Bruch, to whom I am indebted for manv favors. 



*Entomological News, vol. 24, pp. 176, 177; 1913. 



