BY FREDERICK A. A. SKUSE. 41 



of the volume Di'. Loew, in giving a general sketch of the 

 systematic distribution of Diptera, remarks, with regard to the 

 family Cecidomyidce, that it is one rather difficult to define, and 

 consequently also difficult to exactly characterize. He considers 

 that the limits between the families Cecidomyidie and Myceto- 

 philid^e are not easily fixed, since Zygoneura shows a combination 

 of the characters of both, the coxse being far less elongated and 

 the spurs of the tibiae far shorter than in any other genus of 

 IMycetophilidae ; moi'eover, the anteniiaj are mouiliform with verti- 

 cillate hairs, as is frtquently the case in the Cecidomyidse and 

 never so among Mycetophilidse. But, he goes on, the total habitus 

 of the Zygoneurce being more like that of the former than of the 

 latter, and the tibial spurs being so very shoi't that in some 

 species they can only be discovered by the closest scmtiny, he 

 thinks himself justified if he adds them to the Cecidomyidae, 

 tliough in many respects they agree with the genus Sciara, which 

 in his opinion has its natural place amongst the Mycetophilidae. 

 The family is divided by Prof. Loew into two sections ; the first 

 section he styles Cecidomyina, and the second Anaretina, which 

 he thus characterizes. The Cecidomyina have on their wings 

 four longitudinal veins, the last two of which often coalesce in the 

 beginning of their course, or are more or less incomplete ; they 

 have no ocelli, and the first joint of their tarsi is much 

 shortened ; the genera belonging here are Cecidomyia, Meigen ; 

 iJiplosis, Loew; Asphondylia, Loew; Hormomyia, Loew ; Colpodia, 

 Winn. ; Dirhiza, Loew ; Epidosis, Loew ; Asynapta, Loew ; 

 Lasioplera, Meigen ; and Clinorhi/ncha, Loew. In the genera of 

 the second section, the Anaretina, between the second and third 

 of those veins of the wings which the first section possesses, 

 another longitudinal vein is inserted, being simple only in 

 Campylomyza, while it is furcate in all the other genera ; the first 

 tarsal joint is not shortened, and in all genera, with the single 

 exception of Cecidogona, there are distinct ocelli ; to this section 

 belong Campylomyza, Meigen ; Cecidogona, Loew; Anareic, Ifal.; 

 Catocha, Hal. ( — Macrostyla, Winn.); Lcstremia, }>l:i([. { — /Jia- 

 mesa, Meig.); and Zygoneura, Meig. 1I<; omits the genera 



