94 Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society Vol.XVi 



able Mexican Ceratomyia Felt has only six antennal segments. 

 Most gall midges have 14 antennal segments, a limitation almost 

 invariably true of the large series belonging to the sub-tribe Itoni- 

 didinariae, though Hormomyia with Oligotrophus affinities con- 

 tains a few species with as many as 25 or 26 segments, the 

 flagellate binodose in the male and 20 to 24 at least in the female. 

 Early writers counted each enlargement in the Diplosid male 

 antenna as a segment and this introduces a possible confusion not 

 always readily eliminated. 



The Asphondyliariae, like the Itonididinariae, show relatively 

 little variation in the number of antennal segments, while in the 

 Dasyneuriariae and the Oligotrophiariae there are numerous vari- 

 ations, the extremes ranging from 9 to 26 segments. It is note- 

 worthy in these latter two tribes that the larger species as a rule 

 have the greatest number of antennal segments. 



The Lasiopteriariae, a sharply delimited and rather highly spe- 

 cialized tribe, show a great diversity in the number of antennal 

 segments, this ranging from 10 or 12 in Clinorhyncha H. Lw. to 

 39 in one species of Lasioptera Meign. 



An Australian species, Lasioptera nodosae Skuse, held the 

 record for the greatest number of antennal segments (34) till the 

 discovery in the U. S. National Museum collections of the species 

 described below, which has the astonishing number of 39, a total 

 exceeding anything heretofore recorded for the tribe and prob- 

 ably for the entire family. 



Lasioptera howardi n. sp. 



The species described below- was reared February 10, 1883, by 

 Mr. Theodore Pergande, from a lot of elongate, oval twig galls 

 found on scrub oak, some of them collected January 3, in Pine 

 Canon, Mount Diablo, Contra Costa County, Calif., and some 

 from apparently the same species of oak at Martinez, Calif., re- 

 ceived January 13, 1883, from H. W. Turner. It is a pleasure 

 to name this insect in honor of Dr. L. O. Howard. This species 

 has the third vein uniting with the anterior margin at the basal 

 half, 39 antennal segments, dark tarsi, annulated with white and 

 a cluster of numerous slender, spoon-like hooks on the lobes of 

 the ovipositor. 



