ORTALIDSE — INTRODUCTION. 11 



THE ORTALIDSE OTHER THAN EUROPEAN. 



I will now try to find the genera and species from other parts 

 of the world than Europe, which must be placed in the family 

 Ortalidee. 



(a.) In Wiedemann. 



I begin by the Ortalidse contained in Wiedemann's writings. 

 Besides his species of the genus Ortalis, against the location of 

 two of which, however, I will have to raise some doubts, and be- 

 sides his Timia erythrocepliala, which occurs in the southeast of 

 Europe and in the neighboring provinces of Asia, the species of 

 Cephalia described by him undoubtedly belong to the Ortalidse. 

 They differ somewhat from the European Cephalia rufipes, and 

 belong in the relationship of those species which Rob. Desvoidy 

 distributed among his genera Polistodes and Myrmecomyia: 

 Mr. Macquart has established for them the genus Michogaster 

 (better Mischog aster), which coincides with the genus Conop- 

 sidea, introduced by him at a later time. 



The two Ortalis of Wiedemann, the systematic position of 

 which seems doubtful to me, are Ortalis trifasciata and ato- 

 maria, both from Brazil, both closely related to each other, and 

 somewhat reminding, in their general appearance, of Bichardia 

 and Bhopalomera. Both have an erect bristle before the end of 

 the tibise, which I cannot take for anything else but the prseapi- 

 cal bristle, wanting in all the Ortalidse. Considering the impor- 

 tance which the presence or absence of this bristle has in the 

 classification of all the Diptera acalyptera, I would be very 

 much inclined to exclude both of those species from the family 

 Ortalidse, if I could assign them a fitting place in some other 

 family. The structure of the ovipositor clearly proves that they 

 belong in the circle of the Diptera aciphorea, but even in this 

 wider circle the existence of their, however weak, prseapieal bris- 

 tle assigns them a rather isolated position. The venation and 

 the position of the frontal bristles, in which they agree with the 

 Ortalidse, do not allow their introduction among the Trypetidse. 

 They have still less connection with the Pallopteridse. Hence, 

 nothing remains to be done, as it seems, but to tolerate them in 

 the family Ortalidse, however unwelcome they may be among 

 them, as, in consequence of their appearance, the absence of a 



