TACHINIDAE OF AUSTRALIA 81 



Desvoidy which is preoccupied by Herbstia Edwards but wrong about Peribaea 

 which is not preoccupied. The valid name for the genus previously called 

 Strobliomyia is now, therefore, Peribaea. Mesnil (1963 : 803) placed the names 

 Schizoceromyia Townsend and Schizadiana Curran as synonyms of Strobliomyia 

 ( = Peribaea) but these synonymies are in error; the type-species of Schizoceromyia 

 and Schizadiana have been examined, and neither has the strong downwardly 

 directed prostigmatic seta that characterises Peribaea; on the contrary, both 

 type-species have all the essential characters of Ceromya Robineau-Desvoidy, and 

 the names Schizoceromyia and Schizadiana are therefore moved into new synonymy 

 with Ceromya. 



Some species of Peribaea have the third antennal segment deeply cleft in the 

 male, and a bifid male third antennal segment occurs in fergusoni Bezzi and valida 

 Curran (the type-species of Schizoceromyia and Schizadiana respectively) . M esnil's 

 placement of Schizoceromyia and Schizadiana in synonymy with Peribaea (as 

 Strobliomyia) was evidently due to this feature - as the type-species were known 

 to him only from descriptions, which did not mention the prostigmatic setae. 

 It is now clear that forms with bifid or ramose male third antennal segments occur 

 in both Peribaea and Ceromya - and indeed also in Actia (in which A. baldwini 

 is one such species). Cleaving of the third antennal segment is extremely rare in 

 the Australian tachinid fauna, and these siphonines are the only described Australian 

 forms in which such a characteristic occurs. 



The Siphonini are here placed in their traditional position, but there are reasons 

 for thinking that they would be better placed in the Tachininae-notably certain 

 features in the larval morphology (Herting, personal communication). 



Key to Australian Genera of SIPHONINI 



1 Thorax with two strong subequal prostigmatic setae, one directed upwards and the 



other downwards (Text-fig. 8). Wing with sixth vein extending to wing margin. 



Mid tibia with one strong ad seta .... PERIBAEA Robineau-Desvoidy 



— Thorax with one strong prostigmatic seta, directed upwards. Wing with sixth vein 



usually stopping short of wing margin (occasionally traceable to margin as weak 

 fold). Mid tibia with or without an ad seta ....... 2 



2 Sternopleuron with a regular row of fine hairs in front of the mid coxa (Text-fig. 15). 



Lowermost sternopleural seta very weak and placed about as far from the mid 

 coxal base as from the upper anterior sternopleural seta [condition not known for 

 all included species] ....... ACTIA Robineau-Desvoidy 



— Sternopleuron completely bare laterally in front of the mid coxa. Lowermost 



sternopleural seta either very strong and placed very near the mid coxal base or 

 (in fergusoni) undeveloped so that there are only two sternopleural setae [condition 

 not known for all included species] . . . CEROMYA Robineau-Desvoidy 



Tribe BLONDELIINI 



This tribe contains a very large number of genera each with relatively few species. 

 There is great diversity of body form and chaetotaxy within the group, but it is 

 usually possible to recognize the blondeliines reliably among the goniines by the 

 possession of three main features in combination, viz. pre-alar seta small or minute 



F 



