Article beginning on page 15.
Psyche 11:15-19, 1904.

Full text (searchable PDF)
Durable link: http://psyche.entclub.org/11/11-015.html

The following unprocessed text is extracted from the PDF file, and is likely to be both incomplete and full of errors. Please consult the PDF file for the complete article.

Veri recently
ced a curious
it interest to
stant both in
ird very use-
w exceptions
. or the third
- semdstriatum
mls. In two
hat of which
mile, scudderi
e left elytron
ire are three,
: is in normal
[e between it
tmn, is inter-
second and
I is that only
ig no trace of
it elytron are
small way, a
~uld occur in
i is in excess
y indicate an
country and
&a, extend-
$on between
1 from come-
3ds. Of the
SOME NOTES, AND DESCRIPTIONS OF FOUR NEW DIPTERA. BY CHAS. W. JOHNSON, BOSTON, MASS.
Tabanus (Therioplectcs) hinei, n. n.
Thw/opZectes being now considered at most only a subgenus of Tabanus neces- sitates the changing oE Thcrioplecies p^Htus Johnson (Entom. News, XI, 32 j, 1890) which is preoccupied in the genus Taintma by T. p&us Walker {The Enton~oIogist, -
-
V, 256, 187 1).
1 therefore propose for this species the new name Tabaims hind in honor of Prof. Jas. S. Him, who is making a special study of the Tabanidae. During the past summer I have obtained four specimens of this species. Two '
males, Bridgewater, Mass., July 11, collected by Mr. Jos. A, Cushman, and two females, Woods Hoi), July 25, and Auburndale, Mass, July 12, co11ected by the writer. The 9 which has not been described, differs but littie from the <? in gen- eral appearance except that the dorsal stripe of the abdomen is somewhat broader, with a slight dorsal spot or triangle on segments one to four, due chiefly to a small tuft of white hair. readily denuded. One of the males also shows a tuft of white hair on the second segment. Since writing the above I have seen three males of this species from Massachusetts. in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cam- bridge, one of which u-as labeled by Osten Sacken, " male of an unknown species." 9. Face, front and palpi reddish brown, frontal callus dark brown, narrowly triangular and extending as a narrow line to the base of the prominent ocelligerous tubercle; a space between the frontal callus and base of the antennae red; anten- nae red, third joint not excised, and showing no trace of a projecting angle; eyes apparently glabrous and a uniform brown, moisture failing to reveal the greenish bands so characteristic of the group. Thorax reddish browni with grayish pollen , forming four longitudinal stripes interrupted at the transverse suture, the two median stripes extending to the scutellum as a single dorsal line; pleurae reddish with gray pollen and red pile ; scutellum brownish biack, sides red. Abdomen reddish brown, a broad dorsal stripe and a wide lateral margin on all the segments, dark brown; the third and hurth segments hears a large quadrate central whitish area, the third having anteriorly a black triangle and the fourth a dorsal stripe, dividing it equally and leaving two




================================================================================

resembles a large letter H. Wings hyaline, veins margined with brown. Length,
19 mm.
<y . Face and front reddish brown except the upper triangular portion of the latter which is bright red.
Eyes minutely pubescent, ocelligerous tubercle very /
conspicuous.
Pile of the thorax larger than in the female but the stripes less clearly defined.
Abdomen a uniform reddish brown and the markings on the third and -
fourth segments less distinct: the brown margins of the veins are also less pro- nounced. Length, 17 mm.
The 9 collected by Mr. Albert P. Morse, at Wellesley, Mass., is in the New England collection of the Boston Society of Natural History. The $ marked "N. Y." (Wen Sacken), is in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge. This peculiar species, with unico[orous eyes, prominent ocelligerous tubercle, and non excised antennae, connects more closely Tker4plcftes and Tahanus. Dedicated to Mr.C. P. Whitney of Milford, N. H., an enthusiastic student of the Tabanidae. Anastoechus nitidulus Fabr.
Anastoechus barbatus Osten Sacken, Western Dipt. Bull. U. S. Geol. Sur. Ill, 35% 1897-
The distribution of this species in North America is somewhat pecuiiiir. Baron
Osten Sacken based his description chiefly on specimens from Wyoming, Golo- rado and California and also records a specimen from Nantucket collected by Mr. S. H. Scudder, the middle of September. Several years ago I received from the. late Andrew Bolter for determination a specimen also taken at Nantucket. Speci- mens have also been collected by Mr. Samuel Henshaw. Recently in going over a collection of Diptera from Mr. A+ P. Morse, I was interested in seeing several specimens from Provincetown, Mass., collected Sept. 8, xSgo, and Sept. 5. 189 I. Aside from the Massachusetts records I know of no other captures east of Wyoming and Colorado. It is apparently common throughout the Rocky Mts. and Pacific States.
I have specimens from Phoenix, Ark, and Ellensburg, Wash., while Messrs. Viereck and Rehn-collected it in numbers in the Sacramento Mts., New Mexico. Mr. Coquillett (Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. XXI r 14 considers A. barbatus 0. S. a synonym of A. nifti/it/ris Fabr. of Europe. Opsebius pterodontinus Osten Sacken, Bed. Entom. Zeit. XXVII, 299, 1883.
Opsebitts axeZenat Melander, Entom. News, XIII, 180, 1902, In looking over the collection of insects at the Peabody Museum. Saiein, Mass.. I was somewhat surprised to see a specimen of this species bearing the following label: "Massachusetts, Packard Coll." The specimen having been exposed to fc
^
tr
0
st1
of
till
the
tin-
abt
Mr.
the
is gi
seve
post1
The




================================================================================

wn. Length,
wrtion of the
tuber& very
es less clearly
the third and
ilso less pro-
s in the New
marked " N .
ridge. This
rcIe, and non
Dedicated to
"abanidae.
uliar. Baron
foming, Cob
lected by Mr.
ived from the
xket. Sped-
in going over
seeing several
Sept. 5. 189 I.
t of Wyoming
s. and Pacific
Wash., while
ito Mts,, New
s A. 1'arhaius
Salem, Mass..
the following
!n exposed to
The wings of the two specimens show a marked difference in venation, the cross vein dividing the first posterior cell is wanting in the specimen from lilinois. Mr. Melander refers to the position of this vein as inconstant. The Massachusetts specimen has the projection 0:1 the costa very pronounced, with the sides nearly parallel, apex truncate, edges narrowly margined. and the center hyaline; in the other specimen the projection is conical and the costa more thickened. The distribution of this rare species, based on six specimens, is as follows : Type from Dallas, Tex., Sept. 20 ; Austin, Tex., and Rochester, Wis. (Melander); -
N. 111 (Bolter), Mass. (Packard). The 9 is unknown. One of the Texas speci- mens was found by Mr. Melander entangled in web of Agekw naevia Bosc., having apparently issued from the shrivelled spider lying close by. The above
synonymy was given by Dr. C. F. Adams in the Kansas Univ. Sci. Bull., XII, 32, 1903.
Acrocera fasciata Wiedemann.
0
Two specimens which agree in every respect with the brief description given *
by Wiedemann were bred from Lyfosa stonei by Dr. T. H. Montgomery, Jr. (Froc. Acad Nat. Sci, Phila. 1903, p. G8) who refers to the parasites as follows : - " One male and six females died from the effects of an endoparasitic dipterous larva. One spider contained two of these parasites, the others one each. After the para- site, whose bulk nearly equals that of the body of the spider, has eaten away most of the soft parts of the spider, it emerges through a hole it makes in the wall of the abdomen of the spider, and this emergence kills the host. It is strange that these spiders should live so long with such a huge parasite within them. A short time before the parasite escapes the spider acts in a peculiar manner, walking about spasmodically and often spinning aimlessly." The larva is light yellow, 5 mm. in length, and resembles the @re given by Mr. 1. H. Emerton ( Psyche V, 404. 1890,) except that is more contracted towards the head, probably due to the alcohol in which it is preserved. The posterior half is globular in form, the anterior half showing quite clearly segmentation, and bear seven short, transverse, blackish, bristly roughened, pseudopodal ridges; on the posterior portion the ridges are usually divided and indicated by two small spots. The mouth pans show a mandibular structure. The spiders from which Dr. Montgomery bred this species were collected in or near Philadelphia, Pa., and the two flies obtained, measure respectively 4 and 6



================================================================================

4
PSYCHS
mm., a specimen from N. Illinois measures only 3 mm. Wiedemann's specimen
came from Georgia.
The larva described and figured by Mr. Ernerton were taken at Waltham, Mass., in the spring of 1887, from the web of Amaurobius syh'&r/s, but he was unable to raise the adult fly. In May, 1889, he again visited the same
1
locality and found several specimens in abandoned cobwebs and from a pupa suc- ceeded in obtaining a fly of which an excellent figure is given, and I agree with Dr. Witliston in ref erring it to Acrocera fasciata Wied. Head black, antennae yellow.
Thorax and scutellum black, shining, and covered with erect yellowish pile.
Abdomen white, and marked with black as
'
follows:-first segment with a large dorsal spot, the other segments with a short transverse basal band, which extends only over the dorsal third, and from which projects posteriorly, except on the last segment, a short dorsal triangle ; third and fourth segments with a sinail spot on each side of the dorsal line near the posterior margin ; all the segments with a small lateral triangle, most prominent on the last three segments; venter white, with a single transverse band on the last segment; the entire abdomen sparsely covered with whitish hairs. Legs yellow, coxae and basal half of the femora bhck, tips of the tarsi brownish. Wings hyaline, veins light yellow, tegulae whitish with a narrow hyaline margin. Length, 5 mm.
One specimen, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, July 18, 1896. Argyra aldrichi sp. nov.
4,
(?.
Face, front and vertex silvery white, the latter about double the width of the Eace; cilia of the upper orbits black, and of the lateral and inferior orbits white. Antennae black, third joint slightly but evenly tapering to a blunt point, insertion of the arista almost apical. Thorax and scutellum shining green, humeri, pleurae and metanaturn thickly covered with a whitish bloom. Abdomen slender, largely yellow, with black hairs, segments 2 to 4, narrowly margined with black, segments 5 and 6 black, with a white basal band ; hypopygium black, the base of the small lamellae yellow. Caxae and legs light yellow, with delicate black hairs and bristles, hind tarsi black, outer portion of the front and middle tarsi brownish. Wing tinged with yellowish-gray, end of the fourth longitudinal vein but slightly inflected for- ward. Length, 5 mm.
One specimen, woods at Goose Neck, Shrewsbury River, near Long Branch, N. 5, June H, 1902.




================================================================================

nn's specimen
too were taken
&us sylvestris,
sited the same
.m a pupa suc-
1 I agree with
, shining, and
with black as
s with a short
d from which
e; third and
- the posterior
nt on the last
last segment;
iw, coxae and
hyaline, veins
nun.
e
the width of
orbits white.
int, insertion
meri, pleurae
nder, largely
;k, segments
of the small
and bristles,
Wing tinged
inflected for-
å´sa Branch,
Resembles A, calceda hew, but the shape of the third antenna1 joint, and long, narrow abdomen without whitish bloom, distinguish this species. Dedicated
to Prof. J. M. Aldrich, who has done so much to further our knowledge of the Dc/1Cfwpod/d..
Phtypeza (Calotarsa) ornatipes Townsend. Cahfarsa omat@s Town., Can. En tom. XXVI, 50, 102 ; Plaf'esa orftafa~es Banks, /. c, p. 88 ; Coquillett, 1. c, 102 ; Williston. /. ;. p. I 16 ; Snow, Kans. Univ. Qoar. 111, I#, 207 ; Johnson, Ent. News, VIII, 254. Among some Diptera collected by Mr. Owen Bryant on board the schooner "Sunshine" five miles east of the Isles of Shoals, Sept. 5, 1903, were thirteen speci- mens of this interesting species. Only the <? is known, and readily recognized by its remarkably exaggerated and elaborate hind tarsi. Later (Oct. 1.) I secured one specimen mi the window of the Museum of the Boston Society of Natural His- +tory. Described from Illinois, and later recorded from Ithaca, N. Y.; Brookings, S. D., and North Mt., Pa., Sept 3, 1897 ; this is the first New England record. Mr. Bryant also captured on the schooner, associated with the above species, Plstyp<sa fa/A&=s hew, P. obscura Lw. and P. velufina Lw. Strong westerly winds prior to that date had undoubtedly blown them from the mainland. On Sept. 24, four specimens of flatypezapIt/Z//es were taken on the windows of the Museum; two specimens of P. obscura at Auburndale, Mass., Sept. 13, and several specimens of P. veluthw at Dedham, Cohnsset and Auburndale, Mass., Sept 4-20. The latter species
has been bred by Prof. Roland Thaxter from && campestrts. The pupa is flat, oval, with jointed thread-like processes on the sides of the segments ; the larva is probably very similar, , Alophora magnapends sp. nov.
9. Face and front whitish, with white pubescence ; vertex and a lunate spot above the base of the antennae brown, from the ends of the latter a brown line extends half way down the face ; vibrissae black; antennae brown. Thorax black, prothorax with yellowish pubescence, divided by four black lines (the remainder of the thorax too much disfigured to describe). Abdomen bright red, covered with fine black hairs which are longer on the sides ; all the segments bear a poliinose lateral margin.
Legs reddish, with black hairs, on the under side of the basal half of the femora the hairs are white. Wings very broad, the costa excessively arcuate, grayish hyaline with dark brown covering the following portions :- the costal cells except a. small triangle just before the tip of the first longitudinal vein, outer two-



================================================================================

20 PSYCHE [February
thirds of the marginal, and the anterior and apical two-thirds of the submarginal cells, from the latter it extends broadly on each side of the apical cross vein, fourth - longitudinalandposterior crossveinslightlybeyondthe fifth-longitudinalvein,it also extends inward along the fourth longitudinal and anterior cross vein, leaving only the central portion of the first posterior and the basal posterior half of the discal cell hyaline. Calypteres whitish margined with yellow. Length, 12 mm.
One specimen, Montreal Island. Canada, from Mr. G. Chagnon. Its large
size and broad, maculated wings readily distinguish this species. IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIMENS.- The Cambridge Entomological Club is pre- pared to undertake the identification of adult forms in all orders, free of charge, for paid-up subscribers to PSYCHE.
he privilege of retaining specimens after identification, for insertion in the collection of the Boston Society of Natural His- tory, is reserved. Each specimen submitted should therefore have a label bearing a number or other distinguishing mark, and the sender should keep a memorandum of these labels.
A DEPARTMENT OF BIBLIOGRAPHY will be instituted. in the next number of PSYCHE. Brief references to current entomological literature will be presented. This department will hereafter be a regular feature of the journal.



================================================================================