ERIOPTERA. 147 



plecta, and Gnophomyia. The last joint of the tarsi somewhat 

 projects above and beyond the ungues, not quite so much, how- 

 ever, as in Trimicra. 



The forceps of the male consists, as usual, of two movable 

 basal pieces, to which horny appendages are fastened, the number 

 and shape of which are variable in different species ; in some 

 they appear like a pair of strong hooks (E. venusta, Tab. IV, 

 fig. 16) ; in others several horny branches are visible on each 

 side (E. vespertina, Tab. IY, fig. 20, E. armata, fig. 14). 



The ovipositor of the female is of moderate length in some 

 species and rather long in others. The upper valves are arcuated 

 and pointed ; the lower ones, likewise pointed, but less curved, 

 sometimes reach only the middle of the upper ones with their 

 tip, sometimes very nearly the end. The little horny projections 

 noticed by Schummel at the basis of the upper valves of Sym- 

 plecta (Beitrage, etc. p. 158), seem to be common to all the 

 Eriopterse. 



The wings are more generally broad than narrow; in some 

 species, as in the European E. atra, they are shortened in the 

 male, which apparently renders them unfit for flying. The 

 pubescence along the veins is usually long enough to give to 

 the whole wing a hairy appearance ; in some species however 

 (as in the North American E. septemtrionis, or the European E. 

 ciliaris Schum.), it is much shorter, and such species might not 

 be recognized for Eriopterse, if the other distinguishing characters 

 were overlooked. (More will be said about such cases under the 

 head of Trimicra.) The venation shows considerable modifica- 

 tions in different species ; the subdivisions of the genus are prin- 

 cipally based upon these differences, which will be explained 

 below. 



Besides the North American and European Eriopterse at 

 present known, only three species from all the rest of the world 

 have been published. They belong to Chile, and have been de- 

 scribed by Blanchard and Philippi (Blanch. Gay's Fauna, VII, 

 p. 343, and Philippi in Verh. Zool. Bot. Ges. in Wien, 1865, p. 

 616). 



Mr. Loew (Bernst. u. Bernstein fauna, p. 3*7) says that he 

 recognizes eight well-defined species of Erioptera in amber ; he 

 does not describe them. 



The name Erioptera (from tptoi', wool, and ntspbr, wing) has 



