SOME NEW DIPTERA WITH REMARKS ON 
THE AFFINITIES OF THE GENUS PNYXIA JOH. 
By F. R. Shaw 
University of Massachusetts 
In a lot of material sent to me for identification bv Dr. 
Peter Bellinger, while a student at Yale University, I found 
some specimens of unusual interest. Most of the insects fall 
in the genus Bradysia^ of the family Sciaridae. There were 
a few Mycetophilidae. 
By far the most interesting insects were small Diptera 
resembling Cecidomyiidae. The females are wingless and 
lack halteres. The males have antennae similar to certain 
gall midges. At first, the specimens were believed to fall 
in the genus Peyerimhoffla but further study indicated 
that their affinities were not with this group. It was finally 
determined that the insects would fall within the genera 
Pnyxia Johannsen or Epidapus Haliday. 
Through the kindness of Alan Stone of the U.S. National 
Museum, I was able to borrow specimens originally de- 
scribed by Hopkins as Epidapus scabiei but subsequently 
placed in the genus Pnyxia by Johannsen. Two char">p' ^rs 
used to recognize Pnyxia include the absence of the dorsal 
eye-bridge and the shape of the palpi. Since the dorsal eye- 
bridge is greatly reduced in the females I was examining, 
I wondered if Hopkins could have overlooked this structure. 
My material also possesses a one-segmented maxillary 
palpus as is characteristic of Pnyxia. 
A thorough study of Pnyxia scabiei (Hopkins) revealed 
the complete absence of an eye-bridge. The palpi although 
one-segmented are more or less cup-shaped and possess a 
great number of small peg-like setae on the concave surface. 
Thes.^^are entirely lacking in the specimens I was examining. 
Another feature I found of value to distinguish my material 
* I am following the interpretation of Frey, 1948, of the generic 
concepts of the Sciaridae. 
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