168 DIPTERA OF NORTH AMERICA. [PART IV

along the orbits ofthe eyes; antennae

and

palpi blackish-brown

;

the space occupied

by

the usual stripes

on

the

mesonotum

is

brownish,

with

three dark

brown

lines; the intermediate one^is especially distinct^; the lateral ones are curved anteriorly

and extended beyond

^{the suture} posteriorly^; the

humeral

region is

yellowish; pleurae

hoary

below,

with

a

brown

stripe

between

the collare

and

the root of the halteres^; raetathorax brownish,

with

a

hoary bloom

; halteres yellowish,

sometimes

infuscated; feet brownish, tip of the femora broadly, tip ofthe tibia) only a little infuscated;

abdomen

brown, thelateral margins, as well asthose of the single segments, paler; forceps of the

male

reddish.

Wings

slightly tinged with

brownish

; cross-veins with hardly perceptible

brownish

clouds.

Hah. Washington,

D. C. ;

New

Rochelle,

N. Y.

;

Newport, R.

I. ; in June, also in

August and September

; always near water.

Gen. XIX.

CHIONEA.

No

loings. Antennre ^6-jointed, structure ahnormal; feet stout, hairy;

abdomen

short; Lastsegmentverylarge, subglohular, inclosing the basis of the forceps; the latter comparatively large and strong, with strong claw-shaped appendages; ovipositorpointed; the ujiper andlower valves divaricated at the basis.

Head

rounded, ^front

convex; rostrum

short; palpi with four short joints; first joint of the antennte cylindrical, elongated

;

the

second

of equal length, club-shaped at the tip; the third short conical ; the

remainder

of the

antenna

slender, filiform, with three joints^;' joints of the scapus pubescent, those of the flagellum with rather long verticils.

Thorax

comparatively small; the transverse suturevisible at the sides only; scutellura short

and

broad; last

abdominal segment

verylarge,

rounded on

the

under

side, inclosing the basis of the forceps.

Feet

stout, comparatively long, hairy;

cox^

large; the

hindmost femora

(accordingto Dr. Harris)are verythick

and somewhat bowed

ⁱⁿ the males; tibio9 without spurs at the tip;

empodia

distinct;

ungues smooth

; the fourth joint of the tarsi is

somewhat

in- crassated

on

the

under

side, at the basis. Halteres short, with

' For the

number

of antennal joints I rely upon Dr. Schiner (Fauna Austr. Dipt. II,p. 573),

who

had seen living specimens. Itseetnsto

me

thatIcan count four joints in theonly specimenⁱⁿ

my

possession.

CHIONEA.

169

alarge knob. ^"

The body

^{of thefemale}

ends

in a

sword-shapcd

borer, resembling that ofa grasshopper." (Harris.)

The

relationship of

Chionea

has

been

discussed

on

p. 136.

These

^{insects occur}

on snow

in winter; the larvae live under- ground, apparently

upon

vegetable matters,

and have

been de- scribedindetail

by ^Brauer

^{(Verh.Zool. Bot. Ver.in Wien. 1854).}

Chionea

^(from;t:twr,

snow)

araneoides has

been

described for thefirsttime

by Dalman,

in

1816

(A'. Vetensk.

Acad. Handl.

1816, 102^; Tab. II, fig. 2).

A

^second

European

^{species, Ch.}crassipcs, has been described ^since

by Boheman.

^{Harris {Ins.}

of

Mans.

Injur, to Veget. 1841) first

mentioned

the

American

species, Ch.

valga. Later,

Mr. Walker

described

two North American

Chionese, Ch.

asjxra and

^scita, the formerof

which

is probably

synonymous

with Ch. valga.

The

descriptions of

Mr. Walker's

species arereproducedin the

Appendix

I to thisvolume.

I

have

never

had

an opportunityto observe

any

species of this

genus

alive,

and

possessonly a single,

somewhat

mutilated speci-

men

of

one

of the

North American

species. Partly from this specimen, partly

from

Dr. Harris's

and

Dr. Schiner's statements

(Fauna

Auatr. 1. c.) the foregoing generic description has been

"drawn.

Assuming

that

my specimen

is

Chionea

valga Harr., I describe it

under

this

name.

Descriptionofthespecies,

1. C.

valga

^Hakr. %.

—

Rufa, fuscescens, pedibuspallidioribus.

Brownish-red, feetpaler. Long. corp. 0.22.

Syn. Chioneavahja Harris,Ins. Injur,toVeget.etc. 1841.

Chioneaaspera

Walker,

List, etc. I,p. 82.

Head

brownish-red, in a reflected light the front

and

vertex sho\v a hoary

bloom

_; palpi

brown

; front with an impressed

.transverse line

between

theeyes; vertex broad,rounded, sparsely clothed with erect, blackish, ratherlong hairs; the

brownish

an- tennte are but little longer than the head,

from

the point of its

connection with the collare to theextremityof the

labium

(their description is given above).

Thorax

reddish-brown (injured

by

the pin in

my

specimen); halteres brownish-yellow.

Abdomen

short, pubescent with yellowish,

segments

contracted (atleastin thedry specimen), so that the last joint,

which

is

horny and

sub- globular, appears to be larger in size than the

remainder

of the

1'70

DIPTERA

OF N(5rTH

AMERICA. [PART

IV.

abdomen

; the color of the

abdomen

^is pale

brownish

; last joint reddish-brown, with

brownish

hairs, especially

on

its

rounded under

side; its

upper

side convex, with

an open

space

below

(fornicate) ; forceps large, reddish;

horny appendages

stout, claw-shaped, ending in a rather blunt point.

Feet

paler than the body, reddish-yellow,rather uniformly beset with long, black- ish hairs; the hairs

on

the

under

side of the firsttarsal joint are shorter, but denser than those

on

the

upper

side;

under

side of the following joints with a microscopic pubescence;

under

side of the last joint not excised in the

male

; the length of the

femora

is equalto about three-quarters ofthe lengthof the body.

Hah.

Massachusetts;

Canada

(Harris).

Gen.

XX. SYMPLECTA.

Two

submarginal cells; four posterior cells; discal cell closed; the secondlongitudinal vein originates before themiddleof the length of the wing and at a considerable distance (about equal to the breadth of the wing) before the tipofthe auxiliary vein; the subcostal cross-vein is at a considerable distance (three lengths of the great cross-vein or more) from the tip of the auxiliary vein; theseventh longitudinalveinis stronglyhisimiated (Tab. I, fig. 20, wing of S. punctipennis).

Wings

and^

theirveins glabrous. Antennae 16-joiuted. Tibiae without spurs at the tip; unguessmall,empodiadistinct. Theforcepsof themaleconsists of twoelongated subcyliudrical basalpieces, withtwoblunt hornyappend- ages attachedtoeachof them (Tab. IV,lig. 21,forceps of S. punctlpeiwis, from above). Ovipositor with curved, pointed upper valves and short lowerones.

The

close relationship

between

this

genus and Trimicra

has already

been

pointed out

under

the

head

of the latter genus.

However,

the three terminal joints of the antennae are not ab- ruptly smaller, the

wings

are

somewhat

broader, the second vein, after originating from the ^first, describes a gentle curve

(and

therefore does not form an acute angle

with

the first); the seventh longitudinal vein is bisinuated, not straight; the basal pieces of the forceps are subcyliudrical, elongated,

and

not so

much

incrassated as in Trimicra, leaving a large interval, dis- tinctly perceptible even in dry specimens,

between them and

the

horny

appendages.

The

structure of the feet is the same,

and

the

ungues

are also inserted

under

a slight projection of the last tarsal joint.

Meigen adopted

this genus in

1830

{Meig. Zweiji. etc.

TI,

p.

SYMPLECTA. 171

282). Since then, it lias

been

retained

by

all the subsequent authors. Its

name

(fromavv, with,

and

nj^ixu,toconnect)alludes, 1 suppose, to the

supernumerary

cross-vein of S. punctipennis.

A

little earlier than

Meigen,

in 1825, St.

Fargeau (EncycL

Method.Lis. Yol.

X,

p. 585)

proposed

tocall this

genus

Helobia.

Meigen's name,

as that given

by

the

monographer

of the order

and

consecrated

by

a long usage,

ought

not tobe superseded.

Three European

species are

known

; one ofthem,

which

has a

supernumerary

cross-veininthefirst submarginal cell,occurs also in

America

{S. punctipennis).

In

this species it is the posterior

branch

of the fourth longitudinal vein

which

is forked; in the

two

other species {S. similis

and

stictica) it is the anterior one

;

this is indicated in each case

by

the shape of the discal cell.

Like

Trimicra, the three species of

Sympleda have

the great cross-vein anterior to the inner

end

of the discal cell,

and

rather oblique.

The supposed new genus and

species

Idionenra ma-

cropteraPhilippi (Verh. Zool. Bot. Gesellsch. 1865, p. G15, Tab.

XXIII,

fig. 4), is

undoubtedly

Symplecta,

and

not at all unlikely the

same

S. pu7ictipennis

M.

Descriptionofthe species.

1. S.

punctipennis

0. S.

%

and 9^{.—Cinerea,thoracisvittistribus} fuscis; alls albicantibus, venis transversis obscure nebulosis; veuula transversEisupernumerariain cellulamarginali secunda.

Gray, thorax withthreebrownstripes,wingswhitish, cross-veinsclouded

;

a supernumerarycross-vein in the second marginalcell. Long. corp.

0.23—0.25.

Stn. LimnohiapunctipennisMeig. Eur.Zw. Ins. I,p. 147; Tab. V,fig.7.

SymplectapunctipennisMeig.1. c.VI,p.283.

Symplectapunctipennis 0.Sacken,Proc.Ac. Nat.Sc.Phil. 1859, p. 228, Symplecta cana

Walk.

List, etc.I,p.48.

Head

gray, antennae

and

palpi black; thorax gray, hoary

on

thepleurse; three distinct

brown

stripes

above

; the lateral ones crossthe transverse suture;

knob

ofthe halteresinfuscated; feet

brown; abdomen

gray, darker above;

wings

(Tab. I,fig.20) with a whitish tinge; a

supernumerary

cross-vein about themiddle of the first submarginal cell; the posterior branch of the fourth longitudinal veinisforked,

and

hence, the inner

end

of the third posterior cell is nearerthe basis of the

wing

than the inner end

172

DIPTERA

OF

NORTH AMERICA. [PART

IV, of the second; the first is pointed, the latter square; the great cross-vein is

some

distance anterior to the discal cell_; all the cross-veins, the origin of the prtefurca,

and

the tip of the first longitudinal vein are clouded with brownish-gray.

Common everywhere

in the spring

and

in autumn. I possess specimens

from Washington, D.

C.^; Mobile, Ala.;

New York

;

Canada

^; Illinois (Kennicott).

The supernumerary

cross-vein of thefirstsubmarginal ^{cell is}

wanting

in

some

specimens; the discal cell is

sometimes

open.

Gen. XXI.

GXOPHOMYIA.

Two

submarginal ^cells; four posterior ^cells; a discal cell; tlie second longitudinalveinoriginates somewhat before the middleof the anterior margin,aconsiderabledistance anteriorto thetipof the auxiliary vein;

praefiirca very ^slightlyarcuated at the basis,nearly straight; subcostal cross-vein at a smallormoderate distance (hardly exceeding the length of the great cross-vein)from thetipofthe auxiliary vein;seventh^longi- tudinal vein nearlystraight.

Wings

glabrous (except an almost micro- scopicpubescencein the apicalcellsof G.luctuosa). Antennae16-jointed.

Tibiaewithout spursatthetip;tarsiwithdistinctempodia. Theforceps of the male(Tab. IV, fig. 19,forceps of G. tristissima

when

open) consists of two comparativelyshortbasal pieces, anda pair of claw-shapedhorny appendages; a secondpairofhornyappendages, belowthefirst, isshorter andstouter.

Body and

feet rather stout; the latter of

moderate

length, their pubescence short; femora slightly incrassated before the tip.

Front

broad, very

convex

; eyes glabrous, almost contigu- ous on the

under

side;

rostrum

short_; palpi of

moderate

length;

lastjoint

somewhat

elongated.

AntennaB

16-jointed;

when

bent

backwards

they reach a little

beyond

the rootof the

wings

in both sexes; joints of the flagellum elongated, subcylindrical iu G. tridissima; short, subglobularin G. luctuosa; verticils

much

longer in the former than in the latter. Collare

somewhat

elongated in G. tristisHima; short

and

stout in G. luctuosa.

Suture ofthe thorax distinct.

The

wings are rather

broad

inG.

luctuosa; narrowerin G. tristissima (Tab. II, fig. 5,

wing

of G.

tristissima).

The

marginal cross-vein is close

by

the inner

end

of the first

submarginal

cell; thegreat cross-veinis

more

orless posterior tothe inner

end

of the discal cell; thelatter elongated_; the fifth,sixth,

and

seventh longitudinal veins arenearly straight

(more

details aboutthevenation

and

the differences

between

that

GXOPHO.MYIA. 173 of the

two North American

specieswill be given

below

inthe description of these species).

The horny appendages

of thefor- ceps of G. trisiissivia are

remarkably

slender, almost linear

and

pointed; the corresponding

appendages

of G. luctuosa

seem

to

be

shorter.

The

ovipositor of thefemale {G.tristissima) has the

upper

valves of

moderate

length

and

breadth (Tab.

IV,

fig. 19, a); incrassated

and

arcuated

on

the

under

side at the basis,

which

gives a peculiarappearancetotheir

manner

ofattachment;

the lowervalves' are very short, reaching but little

beyond

the basis of the

upper

pair.

Closelyallied as

Gnophomyia

isto

TrHmicra and Sympleda,

it

may

atonce be distinguished

by

the position of the subcostal cross-vein,

which

is

much

nearertothe tip of the auxiliary vein

than

is the case in those genera;

by

the position of the great cross-vein,

which

is not anterior to the inner

end

of the discal cell;

by

the structure of the forceps of the male, etc.

Both North American

species are altogether black; th'e

knob

of the halteres of one of

them

onlyis yellow. I

have

seen

two South American Gnophomyise

in the Berlin

Museum,

oneof

which

is

the

Limnobia

nigrina

Wied.

Auss.

Zw.

II, p. ST.

A handsome

species

from

the Cape,

with brown

wings,

banded

with white (in the

same museum),

is eithera

Gnophomyia,

or closely related to thisgenus.

The genus Gnophomyia

(from yio'i'oj, darkness,

and

(liia, fly)

was

introduced

by me

inthe Proc.

Acad.

Nat. Sci. Philad. 1859, p. 223.

The genus

described

under

this

name

in the

Fauna

Austriaca ^is

Trimicra

(comp. above,

page

IGt).

A genus

closely allied to thepresent one is Psiloconopa (from

4i,x65, glabrous,

and

x^va^, gnat). It

was

established

by

Zetter- stedt, in

1840 {Fauna

Lappjonica, p. 847,

and

later. Lipjt. Scand.

X,

p. 4007),

upon

a single species (P. meigenii), found in the northern parts of

Sweden. The genus

has hardly

been

noticed since, although several other species occur in Europe.

The

typical species,P. meigenii, I

have

not seen, buthave before

me an

apparently undescribed species

from Germany,

larger than P.

meigenii,

and

distinguished

by

the frequent absence of the

mar-

ginal cross-vein.

Of

another, smaller species, I

have

a single

specimen from

the northofItaly. Ithas

no marginal

cross-vein

and

its discal cell is open,coalescing with the thi?^d posterior cell.

There

is butlittle doubtthat this species isthe Eriopte.ra