1940] 
Conopidae of West Indies and Bermuda 
27 
THE CONOPIDAE OF THE WEST INDIES AND 
BERMUDA (DIPTERA). 
By C. T. Parsons 
Biological Laboratories, Harvard University 
No Conopidae have been recorded from Bermuda and only 
three species from the West Indies. Of these three species, 
one is almost certainly incorrectly identified, and the second 
has always been placed as a synonym of the third. In this 
paper the synonymized name is resurrected and six species 
are described as new. Since the members of the Conopidae 
are usually widely distributed, comparisons were made with 
the entire New World fauna. 
The origins of the West Indian Conopidae are obscured by 
the scarcity of data, since no representatives are yet known 
from Jamaica or the Lesser Antilles. Trinidad, from which 
Krober has recorded Physocephala testacea v.d. Wulp (Ar- 
gentina), is usually regarded as part of South America. 
The Conops herein described from Bermuda is so distinctive 
that nothing can be said concerning its relationships. No 
true Conops are yet known from the West Indies, but the 
Antillean Physoconops and Zodion show more or less definite 
affinities with Middle or South American forms. The unique 
Physocephala seems to be closely allied to a Costa Rican 
variety of a widely distributed South American species. The 
single Occemyia represents the first southern extension of 
the genus from the Nearctic region. The predominantly 
South American aspect of the West Indian Conopidae is con- 
sistent with the fact that the Nearctic forms strongly indi- 
cate a Neotropical origin. 
Conops Linnaeus 
Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., p. 604, no. 226. 
True Conops ( s . str.) occurs generally throughout the 
