178 
Psyche 
[June 
SOME NOTES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF CERIOIDINE 
WASP-WAISTED FLIES (SYRPHIDAE, DIPTERA) 1 
F. M. Hull 
College Station, Texas 
Several interesting studies of this unique group of flies 
have appeared in recent years. Since their publication I 
have discovered some new additions to the North American 
fauna, notes and descriptions of which I am presenting 
below together with new locality records of other species. 
I wish to thank Mr. H. J. Reinhard for permission to de- 
scribe two species collected by him in South and Central 
Texas. 
The strong similarity in appearance between these flies 
and certain wasps has caused frequent comment. The 
writer believes this similarity of aspect to be more ac- 
curately expressed from a lateral position than a dorsal 
one. The ever increasing number of discovered Cerioidine 
forms marks the group as a successful one for the present 
and one is inclined to wonder if in this case it may not 
actually be attributed to the mimicry of more aggressive 
types. 
Polybiomyia macquarti Shn. 
The Rio Grande Valley seems to be the home of this 
small slender form. I collected one male at Harlingen, 
Texas, June 29, 1921, flying about flowering grasses, and 
one male at Beeville, Texas, August 30, 1928, while resting 
on a leaf. 
Polybiomyia townsendi Snow 
One male. Las Cruces, New Mexico, July (F. M. Hull). 
On greasewood. 
Polybiomyia festiva n. sp. 
This species is characterized by the reddish color of the 
thorax and of the face. The markings resemble P. toivn- 
iThis paper is a contribution from the Plant Lice Laboratory of the 
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. 
