Knowledge of the Oriental Diptera 

 By E. Brunetti. 



In the year 1896 Van der Wulp published his Catalogue of 

 South Asian Dipt era, giving a list of 2889 species: since that 

 date a certain number of new ones have been described, princi- 

 pally by Herr Kertesz, Herr Meijere, Profs. Bezzi, P. Stein and 

 myself ; with a few additional ones by Van der Wulp himself, 

 and more are at present being discovered, the majority of which 

 will be described in the Indian Museum publications. 



It is my endeavour here to illustrate the advance made in 

 our knowledge of the diptera of South Asia during the last few 

 years, and to review the position in which the groups stand 

 that have not yet been recently revised. 



Cecidomyiidce. —Three species only were cited by Van der 

 Wulp. With the exception of about six described since and a 

 very limited number in the Indian Museum collection I know 

 of no fresh material in this family. 



Mycetophilidce (including Sciarince). — Apart from 3 species 

 of Meijere's no new species have been described; but the Indian 

 Museum possesses a considerable number, principally from 

 Himalayan localities, and these I am describing in a forth- 

 coming paper. They will number about PO species, new, except 

 about half a dozen conspicuous ones which I have recognised 

 with certainty as previously described. 



Culicidce (with Corethra). — The bulk of the species of 

 Nemocera recently described belong to -this family, owing mainly 

 to the indefatigable efforts of Messrs. Theobald, Leicester, Giles, 

 Ludlow and others. From 32species given by Van der Wulp, the 

 number rose to about 240 in my recent Catalogue, 1 and I have 

 compiled a list of nearly 150 additional species from the Hast, 

 making a total of just on 400 species known from oriental re- 

 gions. 



Many of the recently created species are now being re- 

 garded as varieties or intermediate forms, so that, eventually, 

 many present catalogue names may disappear from specific 

 rank. Probably this family has been more extensively collected 

 and better worked out than any other. 



Chironomidce. — -Only 15 species were known to Van der 

 Wulp, to which but three have since been added. The Indian 

 Museum possesses a peculiarly rich collection of insects of this 



1 Annotated Catalogue of Oriental Culicid , Rec. Ind. Mus.. i, 

 297-377. 



