Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington

Vol. 37, pp.25-42 February21, 1924

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON ^^^.

FLIES OF THE FAMILY DROSOPHILIDAE OF THE..^ii;ss>^

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA REGION, WITH KEYS TO GENERA, AND OTHER NOTES, OF BROADER

APPLICATION.

BY

J. R.

MALLOCH AND W.

L.

McATEE.

The group

of flies associated

together

in this

paper under the family name Drosophihdae

consists inlarge

part

of

those genera

so

placed by other

authors,

and

in

smaller part

of

genera

in-

cluded

in

Geomyzidae by

authors.

Nowhere

in

the order

is

there

so

much

diversity of

opinion

as to

family

limits, as is

evident

ⁱⁿ

the

case ofthis

and alHed famihes

of

the Acalyptrata.

In order

to crystalHze

opinion

in so far as this

family

is

con- cerned we put forward the

followinglistof

characters

as criteria for

the

recognition of

Drosophihdae. Though

^it

may be that some

exotic

forms

will

not come

into entire

alignment with

this

summary we

believe

that taken

as

a whole

these

characters

will

hold throughout the world.

Family

characters: Vibrissae present, in

the normal

position;

each

^orbit

with

at least

two

bristles,

one

of

which

is directed straight

forward; wing with

auxiliary

vein

present,

usually

in-

complete, always very

close to first vein;

anal

cell

always

pres- ent;

anal vein present

or absent,

when present never complete;

costa either distinctly or indistinctly

broken

just

beyond humeral ^vein and again

at

apex

of auxiliary (i. e., just in front of

apex

of first vein);

some

or all of

the

tibiae

with a weak

preapical dorsal bristle or setula; spiracles of

abdomen

in

mem-

brane;

postvertical bristles

convergent;

all

North American genera with

at

most two

pairs of distinct dorsocentrals,

except

in

one

species,

Scaptomyza

vittata Coquillett.

The larvae

are

very

similarto

those

of

Ephydridae, possessing

3—

Pboc.Biol. Soc.Wash.,Vol.37, 1924. (25)

Biological Society of

the same protruded anal

respiratory

tubes but most

of

the

species lack

ventral pseudopods which

are so far as

we know a constant

featureof

Ephydridae. The normal

position of these larvae,

feeding

as

they do

in liquid or semi-liquid

matter with the head immersed, compels the almost

exclusive

use

of

the anal

respiratory

tubes

for

breathing purposes hence the exten-

sion of

the anal segments and the

faculty of

protruding the

tubes.

After pupation, however, the

position is

reversed and the puparium

floats

with the

cephalic

extremity

at or close to

the

surface.

Consequently the prothoracic

spiracular

organs

are

brought

into

use and

these are in

many

cases

remarkably extended while the anal tubes

are

much aborted. This change

is

very

striking in Aulacigaster leucopeza (Figs.

16-18) and

in

Drosophila

colorata,

both

of

which

feed in

exuding sap

of

elm

trees.¹

The present

listis

based on material

in

the

collectionsof

the U.

^S.

National Museum ^and

^Biological

Survey. Forty-one

species

have been

collected in

the area usually included

for

the

District of

Columbia Fauna

^(all

within a

radius of

20

miles).

The

^largest

^State

^{list heretofore}

recorded

^is

28

species for

New

York

in

Sturtevant's 1921 paper

(see

bibhography)

^.

Twenty-

six of

the

species

here treated have been

collected

on Plummers

Island,

Md., and

13 additional species in

the Great

Falls-Little Falls sectionof

the Potomac River

Valley.

Key

to

the North American Genera

of Drosophilidae.

1. Mesopleurabare - 2.

—

^{Mesopleurasetulose ...16.}

2. Discal

and

basalcellsofwingseparated

by

adistinct cross-vein^ 3.

— No

distinct cross-veinbetweendiscal

and

basalcells 5.

3. Arista microscopically pubescent; eyes higherthan long; firstpos- teriorcellofwing not narroweds^picaWy....SinophthalmusCoquillett.

—

I Arista long-plumose; ^first posterior cell of wing

much

narrowed

apically ^{- 4.}

4. Scutellum convexabove, evenly rounded in outline, thick toapex;

mid

^{tibiaewithout}outstanding setulae on posterodorsal surface basally; second vein gradually nearing costa apically, the angle formed

by

it

and

costaabout 30degrees;underside of costalvein

beyond

apex ^of secondvein, without isolated warts

Amiota

Loew.

iForfullinformation onbiology of the family consult Sturtevant's 1921 paper.

2Sturtevant(1920) places GitonidesKnabasasynonymofGitona Meigen, whichlasthas thediscalandsecondbasalcellsconfluent. Gitonides,however, hasadistinct cross-vein separating thesecellsandisgenericallydistinct.

Malloch and McAtee —

_{Flies of}the

Family

Drosophilidae.

27

—

^{Scutellumflattenedabove,} not evenly roundedin outline,thinnedat apex;

mid

tibiae with a series of distinct rather closely placed setulae on posterodorsal surface basally; second vein running parallel to costa almost to apex offormer, joining costa

more

abruptly, atalmostrightangles^;underside of costalvein

beyond

apex of second vein with about half a dozen isolated wartlike elevationseachofwhichis

surmounted by

aminute curvedspine

(Fig.1) ^{- -} ...SteganaMeigen.

5. Arista microscopically pubescent; facenotcarinate 6.

—

^Aristawithoneor

more

longhairsabove,

and

usuallyalsobelow. 7.

6. Ocellar bristlesmoderate, in longitudinalline withposterior ocelli,

and

in transverse line withanterior ocellus

Pseudiastata Coquillett.

—

^{Ocellarbristlesverylong,}situated wellbackof the anteriorocellus,

and

in hne between it

and

the posterior pair

TryptochaetaRondani.

7. Analvein absent; facewithout acentralcarina;

two

humeralbristles

present 8.

—

^Anal vein present atleast atbase 9.

8. Aristawith one verylong hairatbase above, otherwise bare;costal veinwith

some

fineoutstanding setulaefrom

beyond

apexoffirst veintonear apex,whichare

much

^longerthan diameterof costal vein

and

ratherwidely spaced-— ...Cladochaeta Coquillett.

—

^{Arista with} several long hairs both above

and

below; costal vein without

any

outstanding setulose hairs as above

ClastopteromyiaMalloch,

new

genus, 9.

Thorax

withbut onepairof dorsocentralbristles

MycodroscophilaOldenberg.

— Thorax

with

two

distinctpairs ofdorsocentralbristles. 10.

10.

Lower

orbital bristles reclinate, all3orbital bristlespresent

and

long CJujmomyza Czerny,

— ^Lower

orbital bristle proclinate, the lower reclinate bristle usually small, sometimes absent, if large,situatedabove the proclinate

bristle 11.

11. Costal vein with warthke elevations as in Stegana; lower orbital bristleaboutas long asupper

and

atleasttwice asfarfromitas from proclinate bristle; costa to apex of third vein

LeucophengaMik.

—

Costal veinwithoutsuchelevations,extendingto fourthvein 12.

12. Fronsstronglyhaired,lowerorbital bristlewellabove middleoffrons;

prescutellar acrostichals strong Rhinoleucophenga Hendel.

—

Frons weaklyhaired orbare,lowerorbitalusually wellbelow middle

offrons 13.

13. Frons with a^{large,glossy,}baretrianglethatextendsto oralmostto anterior margin, covering

most

of interfrontalia; epistomapro- jecting

much beyond

vibrissalangle; proboscis elongated,about as long as height of head, straight Zygothrica

Wiedemann.

Biological Society of

—

^{Frons entirely opaque or subopaque, without} well defined shining triangle; epistoma not or very little projecting; proboscis nor-

mal

- - 14.

14.

Only

one reclinate orbital bristle present; anterior pair of dorso- central thoracic bristles before middle of dorsum; black costal setulae extending almost or quite to apex offourthvein

Microdrosophila Malloch.

— Two

reclinate orbital bristlesgenerallypresentthoughthelowerone

is sometimes very small; anterior pair of dorsocentral thoracic bristles wellbehind middleof

dorsum

^;blackcostalsetulae ceasing a short distance

beyond

apexofthirdvein ..15.

15.

Thorax

withat least six series ofsetulae infrontof dorsocentrals....

DrosophilaMeigen.

— ^Thorax

^withat

^most

^{fourseriesofsetulaeinfront}of dorsocentrals....

ScaptomyzaHardy.

16. Discofscutellumsetulose Curtonotum Macquart.

—

Discofscutellumbare 18.

17. Arista pubescent; ocellars minute .Auladgaster Macquart.

—

^{Arista plumose;} ocellars large DiastataMeigen.

Genus

Sinophthalmus Coquillett.^

The

complete discal cell of wing,

and

microscopically pubescent arista of this genusdistinguishitfrom

any

inthefamily occurringin thisregion.

The

face is conspicuously carinate, scutellum convex, first posterior cell ofwingnotnarrowedatapex;sixthveinrudimentary, base present; costa to fourthvein, but attenuatedapically. There is butonespecies, pictus Coquillett, which is recorded only from California.

Genus

Amiota Loew.

The

fliesof thisgenusarefrequently attracted

by

perspiration

and

cause considerable annoyance

by

buzzing around theface

and

gettinginto ears

and

eyes. This habit ^is

met

with in

some

other species in the family, notably Sinophthalmuspictus,

and

afewspecies of Drosophila, butso far as

we know

notin the genusStegana. Several

North

American

and Eu-

ropeanspecies of Amiota have conspicuous white

marks

on the face

and

pleura, but thespecific distinctions are not wellunderstoodas yet.

The immature

stages are

unknown. Whether

AmiotaisidenticalwithPhortica Schiner or not

we

are atpresentunable todecideas

we

havenot seen the genotypeofthelatter, butiftheyare congenericthen

Amiota

haspriority as

two

species were described

by Loew some months

before Schiner de- scribed Phortica.

That Loew

did not define the genus,-

and

merely described the species under the generic

name

Amiota without stating that it

was

a

new

genus, does not toour minds invalidatetheuse ofthe generic name.

iForbibliography andsynonymy the readerisreferredinmost casesto Sturtevant's 1921 paper.

Malloch and McAtee —

_{Flies of}the

Family

Drosophilidae.

29 Key

to

the North American and European

Species of Amiota.

1.

Thorax

glossyblack,with humeralangles

and

a spotonpleurabelow wing base milk-white; face with lower half milk-white ..2.

— Thorax

shining brownish yellow with milk-white

marks

as above, or

brown

without such markings; face distinctly or indistinctly

marked

4.

2.

Hind

femurofmale with

some

longyellowbristlesbelow, whichare

much

longer than diameter of femur setigeraMalloch.

— Hind

femur without suchbristlesinmaleorfemale 3.

3. Thoracic

and

frontal bristles

and

hairs black;

hypopygium

ofmale

as in Figures 12-13 alboguttataWahlberg.

—

^Thoracic

^and

frontal bristles

and

hairsfulvous^;

hypopygium

ofmale

asinFigures2-5 _humeralis Loew.

4. Largespecies, 3

mm.

oroverinlength, withconspicuous milk-white

marks

onface, pleura,

and

humeralanglesofthorax;h5rpopygium

of male as in Figures 6-8 leucostomaLoew.

—

Smaller species, averaging 2

mm.

in length, with no or very faint paler markings on face, pleura,

and

humeral angles of thorax;

hypopygium

of maleas in Figures9-11... minor Malloch.

Oldenberggivesthe followingkeyto the

European

species of Phortica.

The

firstspecies inthekeyisthegenotypeofPhortica

and

isverydistinct from the othersin color

and

distinct also inwing venation.

1.

Thorax

pale

and

darkmarked;outer cross-veinaboutaslongasthe penultimatesectionoffourthvein, thisat

most

one-thirdaslong

as lastsection variegata Fallen.

— Thorax

unicolorous, withsnow-whitespotsonshoulders

and

pleura;

outer cross-vein

much

^shorterthan penultimatesectionof fourth, this only one-halforone-third shorterthanlastsection 2.

2.

Thorax

brownish,becauseofdense yellowish dustingentirelyopaque in maleor onlyslightly shining in the female

lacteoguttataPortchinsky.

— Thorax

glossy,onlyslightlydusted, black orreddish 3.

3.

Thorax

black ^...alboguttataWahlberg.

— Thorax

reddish rufescens Oldenberg.

A.alboguttataWahlberg.

— ^Loew

^statedthathe

^had

^{seenthisspecies}from

North

America. Judgingfromthe descriptionof the species

we

consider thathe

was

probablycorrectthough a comparisonofthemale hypopygia of

North American and European

specimensisessentialto definitelydecide the matter.

The

speciesisofgeneraloccurrenceintheDistrict of

Columbia

region

and

apparentlyfairly

common.

Adultshave beencollectedatdates rangingfrom

May

28toSeptember18. P.

L

A. humeralis Loew.

—

^{This species} has yellowish frontal

and

thoracic bristlesaccordingto

Mr. Nathan

Banks,

who

hasexaminedthetypeatour request. This is very probably the species described

by

Oldenberg as lacteoguttataPortchinsky,thoughit

may

notbethespecieswhichPortchin- skyhad. Localities: GreatFalls,Va.,September7,1913,Frederick

Knab;

30

of Society of

Dead

Run, Va., June 9, 1915;

Plummers

Id., Md., June 6, 1914, R. C.

Shannon; Glen Echo, Md., ^{July 10, 1921,} June 10, 1923, Malloch;

Mt.

Vernon, Va.,June6, 1915, McAtee.

A.leucostomaLoew.

— We

^believethis speciesisthe

same

asthatdescribed from

Europe by

Oldenbergin 1914as rufescens. Itis

common

at least in up-river localities near Washington,

and

has been collected during a season extendingfrom

May

26 toSeptember 12. P.I.

A. minor Malloch.

—

^{Originally described from Illinois.}

^The

^{lack of}

distinct milk-white spots

and

the small size of the species readily distin- guishes itfrom its allies. Ithasbeen taken frequently inthe vicinity of Glen

Echo and Plummers

^Id.,Md., atdates rangingfrom June2toAugust 30. P. I.

Genus

Stegana Meigen.

Sturtevant in his paper on ^thisfamily sunk Phortica (

=

Amiota) as a

synonym

^{ofStegana. Thisis}anerror asthegenera are quitedistinct.

He

alsostated that

Loew had

reported curvipennis Fallenfrom

North

America but thathe, Sturtevant,

had

been unabletodiscover

any

goodreasonfor separating Loew's specimen from coleoptrata Scopoli.

The same

writer listedvittataCoquiUett asa

synonym

of the latter. Thereare, however,

two

quitedistinct specieshere

and

astheyagree perfectlywithdescriptions ofthe

two European

species,both^ofwhich havealreadybeenrecordedfrom America,

we

assign the

European names

totheinsects. Nothingis

known

ofthe early stagesoffliesof thisgenus.

The

^{adults are}

common

ⁱⁿwoods,

and

are often seensittingonleaves,where they appeartobeofsedentary behavior.

They

arecapable, however, ofvery rapid

movement when

dis- turbed.

Key

to Species.

1. Palpi blackonapical halformore;third antennalsegmentyellow or very slightly infuscated atapex; head

much

higher than long, heightofeyeas

compared

withitslength11 :

7—

.curvipennis Fallen.

—

Palpi pale yellow;thirdantennalsegmentblack;head but^littlehigher thanlong, height ofeye as

compared

withitslength 9.5 ^: 10....

coleoptrataScopoli.

S. coleoptrata Scopoli.

—

^Cabin

^John

^{Bridge, Md., July 31, 1921; Glen}

Echo, Md., July4,1921, July16, 23, 1922, Malloch.

S.curvipennis Fallen.—Glen Echo, Md., June 18, July10, 17, 23, 1921, June17,July8,1923;ChainBridge,Va.,

May

7, 1922,Malloch;

May

wood, Va., June 4, 1922; Glencarlyn, Va.,

May

7, 1922,

McAtee.

Phortica vittataCoquiUettisa

synonym

of this species.

Genus

Pseudiastata Coquillet.

A

verydistinct genus, with pubescent arista, ocellars ofmoderate ^size, situateddirectly in linewiththe posterior oceUi

and

intransverselinewith anterior ocellus, all three orbitals long, the lower incurved, not directed forward,near anteriormarginof frons,secondaboutone-fourthas farfrom anteriorasfromposteriorreclinatebristle;facenotcarinate.

Malloch and McAtee —

Flies ofthe

Family

Drosophilidae.

31

P. nebulosa Coquillett.

—

Testaceous, the wingsmaculated with brown.

Thisistheonly

known

species ofthegenus

and

nootherspecimen thanthe type has beencollected.

Plummers

Id.,Md.,August1,1902, atlight,H.S.

Barber.

Genus

Tryptochaeta Rondani.

A

slightly aberrant genus, usually placedin Geomyzidae.

The

frontal chaetotaxy,however,isthe

same

asinDrosophila, thewing venationisthe

same

as in Clastopteromyia,

and

the chaetotaxy of the thorax is similar.

There^isaseriesofminuteblack spinulesontheapical half ofantero-ventral surfaceoftheforefemorasimilar tothatinthegenus

Curtonotum and

in Drosophila immigrans Sturtevant.

The

only species

known

from the United States, micans Hendel, occurs in

Washington

State

and

in

New

Mexico.

Genus

CladochaetaCoquillett.

This genuscontains but one

known

species, nebulosa Coquillett, which occursinFlorida

and

the

West

Indies,

and

is rathercloselyrelated tothe next genus, the distinguishing characters beingnotedunderthelatter.

Genus

Clastopteromyia Malloch,

new

genus.

As

inthe precedinggenusthesixthwing-veinisentirelyabsent,butthe arista inCladochaeta

had

but onelong hairabovewhilein thisgenusithas severalbothabove

and

below; the costahas

some

outstandingfinesetulose hairs inCladochaeta that are absent in Clastopteromyia.

The

lackof the sixth vein

and

^ofa

median

carinaonthe facedistinguishesitfrom Droso- philainwhich genusithashithertobeenplaced.

Genotype.

—

DrosophilainversaWalker.

C. inversaWalker.

— ^The

^{larvaeliveinthe}so-called spittlemassesofthe homopterous genus Clastopterawhichoccuronalder

and

otherplants,

and

arenot atall

uncommon

atGlen Echo, Md.,

and

elsewherenear

and

inthe District ofColumbia. Localities foradultspecimensat

hand

: Cabin

John

Bridge, Va., July 31, 1921;Glen Echo, Md., August 2, 6, 1922, June 10, 1923;ChainBridge,Va.,September11, 18, 1921, Malloch.

Genus

MycodrosophilaOldenberg.

Thereisbut one

known

species of thisgenusintheUnitedStates.

M.

dimidiataLoew.

— A common

^species,oftenfoundsittingontheunder side of fungi;is

known

to

come

tolight.

Has

beencollected inevery

month

except those from February to

May, and

has been frequently taken in

November,

December,

and

January. P.I.

Genus Chymomyza

^Czerny.

The

anteriorreclinate bristleonorbits in thisgenusissituatedin front ofthe proclinatebristle;thefaceisnot carinate

and

isnarrowedbelow;

and

the post-vertical bristles are absent in both the species occurring in our region.

Society of

Key

to Species.

1.

Wing

withadark

mark

atapexoffirstvein

and two

fuscousfasciae, oneatmiddle

and

the otherbetween middle

and

apex;fore legs

yellow ^-

amoena

Loew.

— Wing

hyaline, costalcellslightly yellowish, costal vein

and

base ^of third vein

much

darkerthanthe otherveins; forefemora,tibiae

and

basalsegment offore tarsi deepblack,remainder yellow....

procnemisWilliston.

C.

amoena

Loew.

— ^An

^{abundantspecies,often seenon}

windows and

about garbageover the surfaceofwhich^itwalks withvibrating wingsinsimilar

manner

tothe nextspecieswhich

more

oftenoccursabout

wounds

ontree trunks,especiallyoaks. C.

amoena

hasbeencollectedat light

and

on sap

and

has been bred from walnut

and

butternuthulls,

and

fromrotten

com.

Adults have beencollectedfromApril 18to

November

23. P. I.

C. procnemis Williston.

A

very widely distributed species, originally describedfromthe

West

Indies. Local records:

Dead

Run,Va., June18, 21, 1914, at sap of tuliptree, R. C. Shannon; Glen Echo, Md., July 16, 1922, Malloch. Malloch foundthe larvaeof thisspecies in large

numbers

under oak bark^inIllinois.

Genus

Leucophenga Mik.

Sturtevantin hiskeytothe generaof thisfamily placesthisgenusinthe sectionin which the lower reclinate orbital bristleis as far fromthe pro- clinate bristleasfromtheupperreclinate. Thisisanerror

and we

assume thathis

numbers

15

and

17have beentransposed.

Key

to Species.

1. Palpi not noticeably broadened, club-shaped;

abdomen

testaceous yellow,firstvisibletergitewithaspoton eachside,secondwith a central spot, third

and

fourth each with five spots, larger on third, fifthwith

two

spots,black; a

brown

spotoncostaofwing atapex^ofsecondvein

and

anotheratapex^offirst variaWalker.

—

^Palpi

much

broadened, leaflike;

abdomen

testaceous, with grayish pruinescence,

and

the following

brown

markings:

two

or three spotson^{firstvisibletergite}

and

fivespotson each^oftheothers, alloftheseexcepton^first connected alongposterior margin of tergites

by

a

band

of

same

colorleaving four pale grayish pruin- escent spots onanteriorhalf of eachtergite;wing

marked

as in varia but with a

brown

cloud on each cross-vein which ^is not noticeable in that species maculosa Coquillett.

L. maculosaCoquillett.

—

StubblefieldFall,Va., October23, 1921;Chain Bridge, Va., September 18, 1921, Malloch; Washington, D.

C,

July 6, 1896,onmushrooms.

L.varia

Walker

{OpomyzasignicostaWalker).

— ^An

^abundant

^and

^gener-

allydistributedspecies;season

May

17toOctober21; comesto light;has been bred fromfungi. P.I.

Malloch and McAtee —

Flies ofthe

Family

Drosophilidae.

33 Genus

Rhinoleucophenga Hendel.

We

canfindnocharacters

more

reliablethanthosementionedinthekey for distinguishingthis genus from Drosophila. However,

most

species of thatgenushave

two

humeralbristleswhileinRhinoleucophengathereisbut one.

The

only

known

species ofthe genus, ohesaLoew,

may

yetbefound in ourregion as it hasbeen taken in Florida

and

as far north as

Ocean

Grove, Virginia. Hendel describedthe genusRhinoleucophangain 1917, thushavingpriorityover PseudophorticaSturtevant which

was

described in1918. Hendel'sspecies pallidaisa

synonym

ofobesaLoew.

Genus

Zygothrica

Wiedemann.

A

tropical genus unrepresented in this region.

But two New World

species are recorded

by

Sturtevant as belonging to this genus, dispar

Wiedemann

withthewingsclear,

and

aldrichiSturtevant witha conspicu- ous black

mark

along costa. There ^is however another species which should beincluded,

namely

vittatifronsWilliston,describedasaDrosophila.

From

the other

two

speciesit

may

bedistinguished

by

thelarge apicalspot onthe wing,

and

thepresenceof six linearblackvittaeon

dorsum

ofthorax, the outeroneon eachsidebeing interrupted at thesuture.

We

haveseen this species, originallydescribedfromthe

West

Indies, fromBrazil.

The

genus closely resembles Drosophila but the shining, well defined frontal trianglereadilyseparatesitfromthat genus.

The

headⁱⁿthemale ofdisparis

drawn

outsideways

and

is

much

broaderthanthe thorax, but in thefemaleofthatspecies

and

inbothsexesof aldrichi,as well asinthe specimenofvittatifronsexaminedtheheadisalmostnormalinstructure.

Genus

MicrodrosophilaMalloch.

Microdrosophila Malloch, J, R. Ent. News, 32, 1921, p. 312 [Genotype Drosophila quadrata Sturtevant].

M.

quadrata Sturtevant.

— ^A

^{specimen of this, the only}

^known

^species,

was

collected at

Chain

Bridge, Va., September 18, 1921, Malloch.

The

speciesoccursalso inAlabama, Georgia, Indiana,

and

Illinois.

Genus

Drosophila Meigen.

Thisis

by

farthe largestgenusinthefamily

and

theoneinwhich

most

of the

known

species have been described.

The

great majority of the species feed in their larvalstages in decaying fruits

and

other vegetable matterbutthe larvalhabits of

most

of the aberrantforms are

unknown.

The

keygivenblowcontains thosespecies

known

tooccurinourregion

and

afew,inclosedinbrackets,

may

occurthoughso farnotactuallytakenhere.

Key

to Species.

1.

Each

forewing with about thirteen fuscous spots; yellow species, averaging about2

mm.

ⁱⁿ length guttiferaWalker.

— ^Wings

^{if spotted,with at}most the cross-veins

and

apices of longi-

tudinal veins infuscated— ...2.

34 Proceedings

of^the Biological Society of

Washington.

2.

Wings

brown,paler towardsinnerorhindmargin, usuallywith

two

subquadrate clear or dark

marks

on apical half, one between veins2

and

3, the otherbetweenveins 3

and

4;outer cross-vein

much

bent, sinuate sigmoides Loew.

— Wings

usuallyhyaline, sometimes with^thecross-veins

and

apicesof longitudinal veins infuscated; outer cross-vein not sinuate,

usually straight .— 3.

3.

At

^{leastthe basal}segmentofforetarsuswithaminute

comb

ofstiff

black bristles at apex (males) 4.

— None

ofthesegmentsoffore tarsiwith

comb

of bristlesatapices 7.

4. First

and

second segmentsoffore tarsieach with anapical comb....

[obscura Fallen].

— Only

the basalsegmentoffore tarsiwithanapical comb...._ .5' 5. Acrostichal setulaeinfrontof the dorsocentralbristlesin sixseries;

facial carina narrow, rather sharp, not broadened below

affinisSturtevant.

—

Acrostichal setulae in front of dorsocentrals in eight series; facial

carina broad below 6.

6.

Male hypopygium

witha small beak-likecentral lateral process,about as large as clasper;cheek broader ...ampelophilaLoew-

— Male hypopygium

withalargebroadcentral lateralprocesswhichis

much

largerthanthe clasper;cheek narrower

simulans Sturtevant.

7. Fore femurinbothsexeswithaseriesofminutestrongblack bristles on apical half ofanteroventral surface (Fig. 14)

immigransSturtevant.

—

Fore femur without suchbristles ineithersex... 8.

8.

Thorax

witha pair of distinct though short, rather closely placed bristlesabout one thirdfromanteriormarginondisc; apicesof wing-veins 2to4

more

orlessclouded-... putridaSturtevant.

— ^Thorax

^withonly the usual regularhairsondisc,nopairoutstanding....9 9.

Mesonotum

withfivefuscousvittae,the outeroneon eachsidealong

lateral margin; abroadvitta along upperpart of pleura

husckiCoquillett.

— Mesonotum and

pleuranot

marked

as above... 10.

10.

Mesonotum and

scutellum grayish

brown

pruinescent, with dark

brown

spotsatbaseofeachbristle

and

hair,the spotssometimes

aggregatedinplaces 11.

— Mesonotum

either indistinctly vittate or

unmarked

12.

11.

Abdominal

tergites each with a pale yellowish spot on the ^lateral

undercurved parts repletaWollaston.

— No

yellowish spots on lateral undercurvedportions of tergites [hydeiSturtevant]- 12.

Abdomen

withfourseries ofblack spotsatapicesof tergitesdorsally

whichare frequentlyconnectedposteriorly ...13.

— Abdomen

withoutfourseriesofblack spotsasabove,sometimes with threesuchseries,usuallywutha

more

orlessdistinctregulardark

posteriorfascia on each tergite 15.

Malloch and McAtee —

_{Flies of}the

Family

Drosophilidae.

35

13. Fourthveinvery pronouncedlydeflectedatapex,the^cellinfrontofit

conspicuously widened at apex (Fig. 15)

deflectaMalloch,

new

species.

—

Fourthvein notnoticeably deflected atapex, the^cell infront of it

notevidentlywidenedatapex 14.

14.

Thorax

very distinctly shining; cross-veins conspicuously clouded, tips of longitudinal veins less distinctly so quinariaLoew.

— ^Thorax

^{very slightly shining;} cross-veins slightly clouded, tips of longitudinal veins indistinctly so transversa Fallen.

15.

Abdomen

withablack fuscouscentralspoton hind marginsof visible tergites3to5inclusive,

and

a blackish transverse spoton eachside of tergites 1

and

2

and

usually, thoughlessdistinctly, onthose withthecentralspot^;bothcross-veins

and

apicesofveins2

and

3

.clouded ..tripunctata Loew.

— Abdomen

lacking central spots as above, sometimes with an inter- rupted darkfasciaon hind marginofeachtergite 16.

16. Apices of all complete longitudinal veins clouded; outer cross-vein at less than its

own

length from apex of fifth vein;

abdomen

with abroadfuscousvittaon eachside

and

abroadpalestripe on

dorsum

lativittataMalloch,

new

species.

—

^{Apicesofveinsnotclouded;}

^abdomen

^{notvittate asabove. 17.}

17. Acrostichalhairs just infrontofdorsocentralbristlesin six series 18.

—

Acrostichal hairs just infrontof dorsocentralsineight series 22.

18. Inner cross-vein not over one-thirdfrom base of discalcell; yellow species,with a brownish

band

on hind marginofeachabdominal tergitewhichis interrupted ⁱⁿ center [ordinaria Coquillett].

—

^Innercross-vein distinctlyover one-thirdfrombaseofdiscalcell 19.

19. Facial carina broad

and

very distinctly sulcate below; large dark

brown

species,averagingat least3

mm.

in length. colorataWalker.

—

Facial carinaifbroad below notat allor veryindistinctly sulcate;

smaller species. ...20.

20. Facial carinaslender,notwidened norelevatedbelow,the depression above

mouth

margin shallow

and

broad afinis Sturtevant.

—

Facial carinadistinctlyelevated below,sometimesdistinctlywidened 21.

21. Facial carina broad below, faintly sulcate melanica Sturtevant.

—

Facial carina slender below, not sulcate pseudomelanica Sturtevant.

22. Secondsectionofcostaat least 3.5 aslong as third 23.

—

^{Secondsectionofcostanotthree}times as longas third. 24.

23. Secondtarsalsegmentbarely half aslong as basalsegment

robustaSturtevant.

—

^{Secondtarsalsegment}

much more

thanhalfas long as basalsegment,

especially on fore legs .— ...funebris Fallen.

24.

Dark brown

species obscura Fallen.

—

Yellowspecies 25.

25. Cheeks relatively narrow melanogaster Meigen.

—

^{Cheeks relatively} broad simulans Sturtevant.

Biological Society of

D. affinisSturtevant.

— Common and

generallydistributed; adults have beencollectedfrom

March

13toAugust 12;thespeciescomestosap,

and

tolight,

and

hasbeen takenonfungi,

among them

Clitocybe illudens. P.I.

D. husckii Coquillett.

—

^Virginianear

^Plummers

^{Id., Md.,}

^November

2, 1915,bred frombutternuthulls, R.C.Shannon; Glen Echo, Md., June11, July 12, 1922, Malloch.

D.colorataWalker.

—

^{This our}largest species ofthegenusisa trulywild form, being confinedtowoodlandswhereitfeedson sap bothinthelarval

and

adultstages. Adultshave beencollectedfrom

March

24toSeptember

17,

most

ofthem, however,inApril. P.I. .

D. deflecta Malloch,

new

species.

—

^Female: Shining rufous yellow.

Abdomen

^{withfourseries}ofsmallblack spotson

dorsum

situatednearhind margins ofthe tergites. Legsyellow.

Wings

^clear, both cross-veins

and

apicesof allthe completelongitudinal veins clouded.

Head and

thoraxas in quinariaLoew. Legsnormal. Inner cross-vein atmiddleof discalcell,outer ataboutthree-fourthsofits

own

lengthfrom apexoffifth,slightlycurved

and

ratheroblique;lastsectionoffourthvein hardly longerthanprecedingsection,deflected attip,thecellinfrontofit

much

widened ^apically, section of costabetweenveins 3

and

4aslong as preceding section ^(Fig. 12). Length,2

mm.

Type, Eastern Branch, near Bennings,D.

C,

August20, 1915,

McAtee.

Thereisat leastonespecimenof this species inthe collection ofIllinois

Natural History Survey taken^in'Illinois.

D.funebris Fabricius.

—

Washington, D.

C,

August9, October10, 1906,

March

24, 1907,

McAtee;

September29, 1913, R. C. Shannon;

Maryland

near

Plummers

^Id.,

May

5, 1915; Virginia near

Plummers

Id.,

November

2, 1915, bred from butternuthulls, R. C. Shannon; Mayivood, Va.,

Novem-

ber 13, 1921,McAtee.

D. guttifera

Walker.—

Glen Echo, Md., August2, 1922, Malloch.

D. immigransSturtevant.

—

Glen Echo, Md., August 30, 1923, Malloch.

D. lativittataMalloch,

new

species.

—

^Female:

^Head

yellowish testaceous, opaque, orbits

and

ocellar triangle slightlyshining; thirdantennalsegment pale brownish.

Thorax

glossy testaceous yellow.

Abdomen

highly polished,testaceous yellow,withabroadfuscousvittaalongeachsidewhich almostobscures thedarklateralspoton eachside ofthehindmarginofthe tergites. Legs yellow.

Wings

yellowish hyaline, a small fuscous cloud atapexof eachvein from2to5 inclusive,

and

both cross-veinsnarrowly clouded.

Facial carina well developed, gradually broadened below, flat atlower extremity, raysof arista

5+3. Thorax

as in transversa. Forefemur with 3or4 posteroventral

and

posterodorsalbristles. Sectionofcostafrom apex offirsttoapexofsecondveinsaboutfourtimesaslongasprecedingsection, that between apicesof second

and

thirdabout one thirdlonger thanthe section

beyond

it;outercross-veinatlessthanits

own

lengthfrom apexof fifthvein, the latter quite conspicuouslydeflected at apex; lastsection of fourth veinaboutone-fifthlongerthanprecedingsection. Length,2.5

mm.

Type, ChainBridge,Va.,September10, 1922,Malloch.

Malloch and McAtee —

Flies ofthe

Family

Drosophilidae.

37

There are

some

specimens of this species in the collection of Illinois

NaturalHistory Survey, fromIllinois.

D. melanica Sturtevant.

—

^{Virginia near}

^Plummers

^{Id., April 19, 1914,}

November

2, 1915, bred from butternut hulls, R. C. Shannon;

Plummers

Id., Md., June8, 1914, atlight, E. A.Schwarz

and

H.S. Barber;

August

3, 1915, atlight;

Maryland

near

Plummers

Id., August5, 8, 1914, atsap of tuliptree, R.C. Shannon.

D. ampelophila Loew.

—

^{This is the}

^{most common}

^{"fruit fly" seen}

indoorsbut from the records of collectionevidently it hasnot altogether given

up

^life in the open. Adults have been collected from

May

4 to

November

2;

and

have been bred frombutternuthulls. P.I.

D. pseudomelanica Sturtevant.

— ^Dead

^{Run, Va., April 14, 1914;}

^Cabin

John

Bridge,Md.,

March

15, 1914,R.C. Shannon.

D.putridaSturtevant.

— ^Common,

^allcollectionssofarbeingin

Piedmont

locahties;season,

March

25to

November

18;comestolight,

and

hasbeen bred from fungi. P. I.

D. quinaria Loew.

— ^About

^as

^common

^{as last}

^{and more}

^{generally dis-}

tributed. Adultshave beencollectedfrom

March

24toOctober29;

comes

tolight,

and

hasbeen foundfeedingonsquash. P.^I.

D. repletaWollaston.

— ^Common,

^seen

^more

^oftenthan

^any

^otherspecies

abouturinals^;however,itlivesalso inastate ofnature,

and

hasbeen bred

from

butternuthulls,

and

fromthestemofawaterlilly.

A

^{record,needless}

tosay, of

some

years standing, notes that thespeciesis attracted tobeer.

Adults have beencollectedfromJuly 17 to

November

30. P. I.

D. robusta Sturtevant.

—

^Fairly

^common

ⁱⁿ

^Piedmont

localities; season April 19 toSeptember29. P. I.

D.sigmoidesLoew.

—

^{Ratherscarce,allrecordsinSeptember}

^and

^October;

StubblefieldFall, Va.,October23, 1921;ChainBridge, Va.,September10, 18, 1921, Malloch;ChainBridge, D.

C,

September12, 1913, R. C. Shan- non;

Plummers

Id., Md., October26, 1906, A. K.Fisher; Beltsville, Md., October22, 1915;Washington, D.

C,

October14, 1906,

McAtee.

D. simulansLoew.

—

^{Mayivood, Va.,June9, 1922,}

^McAtee.

D.sulcataSturtevant.

—

^Fairly

^{common and}

generally distributed; adults have beencollected from

March

24 toJuly 7; they frequentsap, having been takenhere atsapof birch, maple,

and

grape. P.I.

D. transversa Fallen.

— ^Common;

season April 8 to

November

23; fre- quentlycomestolight. P.I.

D. tripunctataLoew.

—

^Fairly

^common;

^{adults have been collectedfrom}

June6 to

November

26; thespeciescomestolight,

and

tosap;

and

hasbeen bredfrom

mushroom and

squash. P.^I.

Genus

Scaptomyza Hardy.

A

^rather poorly differentiated genus; however, the slender form of the species

and

the presenceofbut

two

orfourseriesofshorthairsbetweenthe anterior dorso-centrals are characters that enable one to recognize the

known

specieswithcomparativecertainty.

38 Proceedings

of^theBiologicalSociety of

Washington.

Key

to

the

Species.

1. Palpi largely black;apical pair of scutellar bristlesverynoticeably shorterthanthe basal^pair;

mesonotum

withthreepairs ofdorso- centrals, the anterior pair short vittata Coquillett.

—

^{Palpientirelyyellow;}

mesonotum

withbut

two

pairs of distinctdorso-

centrals 2.

2. Apical pair^of scutellar bristles

much

shorter thanthe basal pair;

humeri each with one strong bristle; four seriesof acrostichals between anterior pair of dorsocentrals; wing usually with a

blackish apical spot adusta Loew.

—

Apicalpair of scutellar bristles aslongasbasal pair 3.

3

Each humerus

with

two

longbristles^;fourseriesofacrostichalsbetween anterior dorsocentrals;wingusuallywitha blackishapical spot...

terminalis Loew.

— Each humerus

with onestrongbristle;

two

seriesofacrostichalsbetween anterior dorsocentrals; wing without a blackapical spot

graminum

Fallen.

S. adusta Loew.

— ^Common;

^season

^May

^{19 to}

^November

^{30; comes to}

light;the larvaehave been found miningturnipleaves. P.I.

S.

graminum

Fallen.

— ^Abundant;

^{adults have been} collected in every

month

but January;they

come

to light;

and

have been bred frombutternut hulls. P.

L

S. terminalisLoew.

—

^{Rosslyn, Va.,}

^May

^{1, 1913, R. C. Shannon.}

S.vittataCoquillett.

—

^{Rosslyn, Va., April28, 1913;}

^Plummers

^{Id., Md.,}

June8,1914, at light;

Maryland

near

Plummers

^Id.,August17, 1914,R.C.

Shannon; Glen Echo, Md., August21, 1921, Malloch.

Genus

Curtonotum Macquart.

Hendel (Deutsch. Ent. Zeitschr., 1917, p. 43) proposed the subfamily Cyrtonotinaefor this

and

oneothergenus

and

atthe

same

time he usedthe subfamily Diastatinae, including Diastata, Tryptochaeta

and

one other genusinit.

We

deprecate the multiplicityofsubfamiliesforthe reception ofoneorafewaberrant genera, believing thatsucha course does nottend to improve the classification nor

make

it

more

understandable to the averagestudent,

and

unlessthedivisionsarebased

upon

charactersof

more

fundamentalsignificancethanthecomparativecompletenessoftheauxili- aryvein

and

the presenceorabsenceofcertain bristlesthat areadmittedly unstable

we

considerthe recognitionof

numerous

subfamilies inadvisable.

In Curtonotumtheverylongcostalspines

and

thelarge size ofthespecies remind one ^ofthe familyHelomyzidaein whichthe genus hassometimes been placed. It findsitsclosestajffinities, however, inthe £)rosophilidae, but ^differsfromallthe genera herein included, except two, inhaving the mesopleura setulose. There ^is but onespecies recordedfrom the United States.

C. helvum Loew.

—

^Locally

^common

^{in moist, shady} situations; season, July 1 toAugust20.

Malloch and McAtee —

Flies of^the

Family

Drosophilidae.

39 Genus

AulacigasterMacquart.

A

rather aberrantgenusso far asthe adult characters areconcerned,but undoubtedly belonging to this family judging from the larval

and

pupal characters

and

habitat.

The

larvae

and

puparia(Figs,16-18) arefoundin sap exuding from

wounds

ⁱⁿ treetrunks

and

the adults breed therealso, sometimes ^{in large} numbers, their steady flight

and

deliberate actions closelyresembling those of

many

other

members

of the family.

The

presenceofpseudopods onthe ventral surfaceofthe larvais

worthy

ofnote ^{in this}genusbut there are certainspecies belonging tothe genus Drosophila thatalsopossesspseudopods, oneofthelatteroccurringinsap alongwiththisgenus. This Drosophilalarva can

jump

thoughlarvaeof Aulacigasterobserveddidnot manifestsuchability.

The

larvaofAulaci- gaster can protrude the anal respiratory tubes in a remarkable manner, becomingexceptionallyattenuated posteriorlyindoingso.

There ^is but one species in ourregion, which ^isfound also in Europe, Sturtevantisinerror instatingthat theocellar bristlesareabsent;theyare presentbut minute;the postverticals are absent,

A.leucopezaMeigen,

— ^Common;

^season

^March

^{13toOctober23; adults}

frequent sap

and

have beenrearedfromlarvaefoundin sap, P,I.

Genus

DiastataMeigen.

Therearesixspeciesrecordedfrom

North

Americaasbelongingto this genus.

Only

one of these has been taken in our region but

two

others possibly

may

occur

and

akeyisgivento facilitate their identification.

Key

to Species,

1.

Only

the outercross-vein

and

costaslightlyinfuscated; inner cross- veinaboutone-fourthfrombaseof discalcell

and

almostdirectly belowor butlittle

beyond

apex offirstvein [vagans Loew].

— A much

largerportionofwings blackened 2.

2.

Wing

hyaline,withalargespotover outercross-vein

and

another over inner, dark brown, subcostal cell blackish [nebulosa Loew],

— Wing

blackish, withfive or six hyaline spots decemguttata Walker.

D.decemguttata

Walker

(pulchraLoew).

— ^Found

ⁱⁿ

^damp

^{places,usually}

inwoods.

Plummers

Id,, Md,, July4, 21, 1907, October 5, 1915;

Mary-

land near

Plummers

Id,,July26, 1914,

McAtee;

Glen Echo, Md.. July16.

August2, 22, 1922, Malloch.

Bibliography.

Aldrich, J,

M.

A

catalogueof

North

American Diptera(ortwo-wingedflies).

Smiths, Misc.Coll. 46, 1905, pp. 639-644.

Records7speciesfromtheDistrict ofColumbia.

Chittenden,

F. H.

Some

insectsinjurious tovegetablecrops. Bui.33,U.S.Div. Ent., 1902, pp. 75-77.

40 Proceedings

oftheBiological Society of

Washington.

Scaptomyzaflaveola

Meigen {gramimum

Fallen)miningleavesofcabbage

and

Stenophragma thaliana; Scaptomyzaadusta

Loew

incabbage

and

waterlily in the District ofColumbia.

COQUILLETT, D.

W.

Two

dipterous leaf-miners on garden vegetables. Insect Life 7, 1895, p. 381.

Records Drosophila flaveola

Meigen {=graminum

Fallen)miningradish leavesat Ivy City, D. C.

Papers from the

Harriman

Alaska Expedition IX. Entomological Results (3): Diptera. Proc.

Wash.

Ac. Sci. 2, p.462, Dec. 1900.

Scaptomyzaflaveola

Meigen

recordedfrom theDistrict of Columbia.

Three

new

species ofDiptera.

Ent.News. 12, No. 1,Jan. 1901, p. 18.

Drosophilabuskii (sic)describedⁱⁿpartfromlocalmaterial.

New

genera

and

species of diptera. Proc. Ent.Soc.

Wash.

9,1907,p.148.

Pseudiastata nebulosadescribedfrom

Plummers

Id.,

Md.

Howard,

L. O.

A

contribution to the study of the insect fauna of

human

excrement.

Proc.

Wash.

Ac. Sci. 2,pp. 589-590, Dec. 1900.

Drosophilaampelophila

Loew and

D.funebris

Meigen

recordedfromour region.

Loew,

H.

Diptera americaeseptentrionalisindigena.

Centuriasecunda,1862,pp.99-101Amiotahumeralis,Drosophilaamoena, D.tripunctata,

and

D.adustadescribedfromtheDistrict ofColumbia.

Centuria septima, 1866, p. 110. Drosophila multipunctata{==guttifera Walker)similarlydescribed.

Sturtevant,

a. H.

Notes on

North American

Drosophilidaewith descriptions of twenty- three

new

^species.

Ann. Ent.Soc.

Am.

9, No.4, Dec. 1916,pp. 323-343.

Drosophila sulcata, D. melanica, D. pseudomelanica,

and

D. modesta (^^tripunctataLoew), describedinpartfromlocal material.

The North

American species of Drosophila. Publ. 301, Carnegie Inst.Wash.,1921, 150 pp.

Records 26species ofthefamilyfromtheDistrict of

Columbia

region.

New

species

and

notes on

synonomy and

distribution of Muscidae Acalypteratae (Diptera).

Am. Mus.

Novitates,No. 76,

May

21, 1923,p. 10.

ScaptomyzavittataCoq.

and

S.

graminum

Fall, recordedfromour region (Arlington, Va.).

Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. 37, 1924.

Plate VIII

12

13 14

15