1940] 
Conopidae of West Indies and Bermuda 
33 
black, surrounded by a margin of gold pollen, except at the 
median third on the anterior margin. Sides of the thorax 
dark rufo-piceous with an irregular oblique band of golden 
pollen. Scutellum black ; metanotum black with a large spot 
of golden pollen on each side. The halteres pale yellow. 
Coxae dark rufo-piceous covered with coarse silvery pollen ; 
trochanters and bases of the femurs pale testaceous ; femora 
dark piceous except about the distal fourths, which are pale 
testaceous; tibiae and tarsi pale testaceous, tips of claws 
black. Abdomen as figured, rufo-piceous tending to be 
darker dorsally and towards the base of each segment. Pos- 
terior margins of the segments with obscure golden pollen ; 
except for a broad patch on each side of the distal end of the 
first segment and generally on the dorsal surface of the sixth 
segment. The ventral plate rufo-testaceous, black from be- 
hind, when seen from below angulate, forming an angle of 
120°. Wings subhyaline, costal and subcostal cell testa- 
ceous ; the usual brown stripe extends from the first vein to 
fifth, slightly beyond the apex of the second posterior cell, 
and does not fill up completely the first posterior cell. 
Holotype ( $ ) : Nov. 16-17, 1934, Mannville, Haiti (P. J. 
Darlington, Jr.) in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 
Of the Nearctic species venusta is clearly nearest to sagit- 
taria Say. But sagittaria is larger, has a longer style, longer 
second antennal joint, the median black frontal line divari- 
cating at the antennae, larger and more rounded ventral 
plate, and color differences. 
A Neotropical species which appears to be very closely 
related to venusta is bimaculata Krober, described, from 
Argentina, Ecuador, and Colombia. According to Krober’ s 
description (1915, Archiv. f. Naturgesch. Abt. A, H. 4, p. 
140) bimaculata is much larger, has a shorter second anten- 
nal joint, scutellum reddish brown instead of black, abdomen 
black with much more yellow, and the ventral plate larger 
and rounded, not angulate. Krober (Konowia, 5 : 130) gives 
a supplementary description and figures of bimaculata from 
Costa Rica. The figures show that venusta is near but dis- 
tinct from bimaculata. 
Zodion Latreille 
Zodion Latreille, 1796, Prec. des caract. gen. d. Ins., p. 162. 
