Vol. VI, No. 3.] Oriental Diptera. 139 



[N.S.] 



Muscidcz. — In this great family but little revisionary work 

 has been done, mainly owing, probably, to the impossibility of 

 recognising species from the older brief descriptions. Mr. 

 Austen has allocated a good number of Walker's species of 

 Tachinidw to their correct genera ; Prof. Stein has described a 

 number of species of Spilogaster, Lispa, Ccenosia, and Atheri- 

 gona, chiefly from Papua; whilst amongst the Aealypterate 

 groups, the Sepsince have been treated of by Meijere ' and 

 myself, 2 bringing our knowledge of the group pretty completely 

 up to date, and raising the total of known species from 20 to 

 51, including several European species recognised by me. In 

 a paper shortly to be issued, the Oriental Stomoxyince are fully 

 revised by me and described (including, however, only very 

 few new species) ; whilst Prof. Bezzi has nearly completed his 

 studies on the Trypetidce. Herr Hendel's revision of the 

 world's species of Sapromyzince (as Lauxanince) z enables us to 

 reconstruct the oriental list of species, to which over 40 names 

 have been added and described by Herr Kertesz in the genus 

 Sapromyza alone. Prof. Bezzi 's revision of the genus Dacus 

 disposes of most of the oriental species, but in all the other very 

 extensive and difficult groups next to nothing has been done. 



The Indian Museum possesses a very large number of 

 undetermined species (of which a large proportion can hardly 

 fail to be new) in Tachinidce, Sarcophaga, Musca, Lucilia, 

 Anthomyidce and various groups of the Acalypterata :, including 

 a number of named but undescribed species erected by Bii^ot, 

 all representing a mine of wealth to the earnest but advanced 

 student in these respective groups. 



In Van der Wulp's Catalogue, 20 pages are devoted to 

 Tachinidce and Dexidce, 30 species of Saresphaya are given, 

 over 60 of Lucilia and 45 of Musca; of the latter genus the 

 author very significantly observes, u only domestica and corvina 

 belong with certainty to the genus in its strict sense ". 



In the Phoridce Mr. Brues has described eleven new 

 species, 4 whilst I am adding nearly a dozen more in my " New 



Oriental Diptera. ' * 



Respecting the last division of Diptera, Pupiparo Herr 

 Speiser after describing 21 new species, 5 is revising the whole of 

 the known species. 



The foregoing resume will serve to give a general view of 

 our present knowledge of Oriental Diptera. 



It does not seem too much to state that a great part of the 

 activity (displayed during the last 3 years at least) is due 

 directly to the efforts of Dr. Annandale, the Superintendent of 



1 Ann. Mus. Hung., iv, 167. Rec. Ind. Mus . iii f 343-372. 



3 Genera Insectorum, n8me, Fasc. 



* Ann. Mus. Hung., iii, 540. * In various journal*. 



