1945] Ten New Species of Empididoe 83 
Hairs and bristles of thorax black, dorsocentrals present though sometimes 
small 3. 
3. Wing with darkening on apical half; legs fuscous; halteres black; two scutel- 
lars; second basal cell longer than first. Cal. insignita , n.sp. 
Wings without cloud, uniformly whitish ; legs and halteres yellowish 4. 
4. Bristles and hairs of costa and notum black; second basal cell shorter than 
first. North Atlantic Coast. Houghii Mel. 
Bristles and hairs of costa and notum pale ; basal cells equal. Fla. 
nana Coq. 
Ragas primigenia, n.sp. 
Male. Length 2 mm. Black, with a thin coating of fine brown- 
ish pollen. Hairs of lower occiput silky; eyes fully contiguous 
along the front; ocellar triangle prominent, with five setae; third 
antennal joint triangular, twice as long as deep, style one-fourth 
the length of the third joint, thick, with a small apical seta; 
proboscis shining, incurved, sharp, in length one-third the head- 
height. Notum and pleurae bare of hairs, lateral bristles very 
small, single hum., ia., and npl., 6 scutellars, dorsocentrals 
uniseriate, sparse, short, the posterior three longer, acrostichals 
biseriate, sparse and short. Abdomen nearly bare, pygidium 
small and open, its valves bifurcate and forcipate. Legs nearly 
bare, slender, front coxae studded anteriorly with six stubby 
spines, front trochanters large and furnished with a curved row 
of about ten spinous bristles, middle femora beneath near mid- 
dle with two strong bristles. Wings infumated, veins heavy and 
dark, stigma strong and elliptical, second basal cell a little 
longer than the first and parallel-sided, discal cell large, acutely 
pointed at base, the underside one-fourth its length, third vein 
ending just beyond tip of wing, its sections 2.5 : 1, sections of 
fourth vein 1 : 5 : 5, of fifth vein 1:2, axilla rounding into the 
prominent anal lobe; halteres blackish. 
Holotype: La Jolla, California, 1 January 1935. 
This is the first valid occurrence of this genus in America, the 
previous citations of Ragas having been assigned to other gen- 
era. There is only one other known species, R. unica Walker, 
from Europe. It is smaller than our form, lacks the armature 
of the legs, and has thinner veins. Otherwise the two species 
are closely related. In Curran’s book on the genera of North 
American Diptera Ragas would lead to couplet 33 on page 211, 
differing in having an almost straight complete auxiliary vein 
and a full anal angle to the wing. 
