A. L. Melander.
Synopsis of the Dipterous Family Psilidæ.
Psyche 27:91-100, 1920.

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PSYCHE
VOL. XXVII OCTOBER, 1920 No. 5
SYNOPSIS OF THE DIPTEROUS FAMILY PSILIDE. 1 BY A. L. MELANDER,
Pullman, Washington.
The following keys are given to assist in the determination of the flies of the family Psilidse as at present known from North America. The study is based entirely on my own collection, species before me being indicated by starring the localities represented. In the February (1920) issue of PSYCHE Mr. Charles W. Johnson gives tables of Loxocera and a new genus, Pseudopsila, With slight modifications these tables are incorporated in the present paper. Table of Genera.
1. Antennae greatly lengthened, longer than the head, the third joint very slender, more than four times the length of the second joint and distinctly longer than the arista; no . fronto-orbital or postvertical bristles.. Loxocera Meigen ...
Antennae shorter, the arista longer than the third joint .2
2. Third antennal joint subcylindrical, about three times as long as the second; no fronto-orbitals, but postverticals present, one presutural dorsocentral present ... Pseudopsila Johnson .............. Third antenna1 joint short, ovate, rounded. .3
3. Face very strongly retreating; anal cell as long as second basal. ................................... Psila Meigen Face more nearly perpendicular, the head not triangular in ............................................ profile .4 4. Robust; occiput flat, ocellar triangle small and placed well back; 4 scutellar bristles; pteropleurse bare; first vein ending opposite anterior crossvein, second vein near wing- tip, anal cell shorter than second basal and truncate Chyliza Fallen
Slender; head spherical, ocellar triangle placed forward; 2 scutellar bristles; pteropleum with hairs; first vein ending before anterior crossvein, second vein about midway 'Contribution from the Zwlogy Laboratory of the State College of Wfahingbn. Pu&f 27:91-101 t l!XU). hvYipsyche mtclub ore/27/27-091 hlml



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Psyche [October
between posterior crossvein and wing-tip, anal cell almost equalling second basal and with rounded apex Strongylophthalmyia Heller
Loxocera Meigen
Eyes large, in profile attaining the front margin of the head, with the occiput one-tenth and the cheeks one-third their greatest diameter ................................. .2 Eyes small, nearly round, not reaching the front of the head, the occiput one-third and the cheeks fully as wide as their .......... greatest diameter. (Wash.*) microps, sp. nov. 2. Wings hyaline with the tip and posterior crossvein clouded. (cylindrica Say) .................................... .3 ....................
Wings uniformly brownish hyaline. .4
3. Anterior margin of the thorax, a dorsal line, humeri, and lateral lines, black.
(N. H., Vt., Mass., Pa., Ill.,* Minn., Kans.) var. cylindrica Say
Anterior margin very broad, covering at least one-third of the thorax, a dorsal line, short lateral lines and about one-third of the anterior of the pleura, black. (Me., N. H., Vt., Quebec,* Mass.,* Conn., N. Y.,* N. J., Mich., Kans.) var. pleuritica Loew
Dorsal line, humeri, lateral margins and the upper half of the pleura, black (N. H., Vt., Mass., Pa., D. C., Va.) var. pectoralis Loew
Dorsal and lateral lines (sometimes obsolete) and a spot above the yellow humeri, black.
(Vt., Mass., Conn., N. J., Pa.,
D. C.,* Va., N. C., La.,* Tex.*) ... var. obsoleta Johnson 4. Anterior third of the thorax black, dorsal and lateral lines wanting; abdomen, except the sides of the first segment, black. (Me., Mass.,* Conn., N. H., N. J., Va., Wis., Mont.,* Idaho,* Wash., Ore.) ............. collaris Loew Anterior and lateral margins and a dorsal line on the thorax, black; abdomen except at the base red. (Kans., Tex., Cola.*) .......................... fumipennis Coquillett Loxocera microps sp. nov.
Male. Length, 5 mm. Polished testaceous variegated with black. Head testaceous with a median frontal black stripe, ante-



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19201 Melander-Synopsis of the Dipterous Family Psilidce 93 rior orbits blackish; frontal triangle attaining suture and occupy- ing half of the front at the ocelli; face greatly receding, antenna1 grooves white-velvety, center stripe wide and polished; eyes small, nearly round, not reaching front margin of profile by one-fifth their greatest diameter and the hind margin by about one-third, facets uniform, cheeks deeper than eye, orbits distinctly sunken; occiput flat, swollen in back of the cheeks, with fine yellow hairs; palpi tipped with brown; antennae greatly lengthened, basal joints small, third joint twenty times as long as the second, arista yellow, the thickened basal part with brown tip, pubescence micro- scopic. Thorax testaceous, notum centrally broadly black in front, vestiture pale yellow, bristles weak and black, one dorsocentral and one pair scutellars; metanotum centrally blackened; meso- pleurae with white hairs below. Abdomen piceous, sides toward the base yellowish; genitalia minute. Legs yellowish. Halteres pale yellow. Wings nearly hyaline with a brownish tinge, veins firm and brown, sections of fourth vein proportioned 2: 5: 4, third and fourth veins apically parallel. Two specimens. Paradise Valley, Mount Rainier, Wash., August, 1917.
Pseudopsila Johnson. '
Thorax entirely black (N. H., Mass., N. Y., Can.). . .fallax Loew ......................... Thorax yellow, marked with black. .2
2. Dorsum without lateral margins of black. ................. .3 ....................
Dorsum with lateral margins of black.
.4
3. Humeri and upper half of pleurae black (Vt., N. Y.) (Proc.
Acad. Nat. Sci. Phil., 1919, 193) (Psild) . . angustata Cresson Anterior margin, pleuree, metanotum and a narrow dorsal line black. (Me., N. H.) (PSYCHE, 1920,18). . perpolita Johnson 4. With broad lateral margins only, upper half of pleurae black. (Conn., Me., N. J., Pa., Quebec) (Psild). .. bivittata Loew With a broad anterior and lateral margins, upper half of pleurae black. (N. H., Mass., Conn., Va.) (Psila) ... collaris Loew Psila Meigen.
.....................
Mesonoturn and pleurae entirely yellow.. .2
Thorax more or less black; abdomen wholly black. ........... .5



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94 Psyche [October
Entire insect yellow, except the black frontal or ocellar triangle; arista, and cephalic and thoracic bristles black.. ........ .3 Head and thorax yellow, abdomen wholly black; arista and bristles yellow, the arista short-pubescent ; tip of palpi black ....................................
(bicolor Meigen) .4
Frontal triangle large, black, polished; arista, pubescent; an- tennse half as long as the face. (N. H.) frontalis Coquillett
Only ocellar triangle black; arista bare; antennae distinctly less than half the facial length.
(Ore.) . . microcera, sp. nov.
Metanotum wholly yellow (Europe, N. H., Can., Mont. ,* Wyo.,* Wash., Alaska) .............. var. bicolor Meigen Metanotum centrally black (Can., Colo. ,* Wyo.) var. dimidiata Loew
Mesonotum yellow the humeri alone black; only upper pleurae black; bristles of head and thorax black; third antennal joint dark .......................................... 6 ...........................
Mesonotum centrally black. .7
Head entirely yellow except the small ocellar spot; palpi yellow (Tex.*) ............................... colorata, sp. nov. Occiput bimaculate; palpi black (N. J., D. C., Wis.) lateralis Loew
Bristles of head and thorax black; legs mostly black; antennae, the nearly bare arista, and the palpi black; head and sterno- pleurae black ...................................... .8 Bristles of head and thorax yellowish; coxse and legs yellow; .....................
arista yellowish; head yellowish. .9
Base of arista thick; last section of fourth vein arched and shorter than the, penultimate section. (Wash.*) u ashingtona sp. nov.
Arista not thickened; last two sections of fourth vein equal; face greatly receding; two dorsocentrals. (Idaho*) atrata, sp. nov.
Sternopleurse black; at least tip of palpi blackened; third antenna1 joint mostly or wholly yellow. ............... .10 Sternopleurae black; palpi and antennse yellow; mesonotum with short white pilosity (Mex.) ............ exigua Wulp Sternopleurse yellow ; palpi wholly yellow ; third antennal joint black. (N. Y.,* N. J.,* Ill.,* Wis.) ...... sternalis Loew



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19201 Melander-Synopsis of the Dipterous Family Psilidce 95 10. Palpi wholly black; third antennal joint round, wholly yellow (eastern) or upper edge dark (western) ; frontal triangle ................
black. (N. H., Alaska*). .levis Loew
Palpi with black tip; third antennal joint oval, tipped with black; only ocellar spot black. (Europe*; Can., N. Y., ..........................
Colo., Wash.*) rosce Fabricius
Psila microcera sp. nov.
Male. Length, 4 mm. Entirely yellow except for the black ocellar prominence and the black upper edge of the third antennal joint. Frontal triangle almost reaching the suture, periorbits distinct, one fronto-orbital, postverticals diverging and long, cephalic bristles black; antennae short, third joint rounded, slightly longer than deep, arista bare and black. Eyes nearly round, equal to the longest diameter of the cheek. Thoracic bristles black, strong, two notopleural, one supra-alar, one dorso- central, two scutellars. Wings hyaline, with a yellowish tinge, veins yellow, sections of the fourth vein proportioned 2 : 7 : 5, of the fifth vein 12 : 1, posterior crossvein transverse. A single specimen collected by Professor A. L. Lovett at Duffy Prairie, Ore., July 26, 1915, and presented by F. R. Cole. Three females collected by R. C. Shannon at Sprague, Ewan and Medical Lake, Wash.* The last mentioned specimen has the bristles yellow.
Psila colorata sp. nov.
Male. Length, 4 mm.
Head yellow, a small black spot between
the ocelli; lower occiput swollen; third antennal joint twice as long as deep, black beyond the arista, which is yellow, and white-pilose; mouthparts yellow; cephalic bristles long and black, no fronto- orbitals. Mesonotum, scutellum, center of metanotum, and lower pleurae yellow, humeri, mesopleurse, pteropleurae and sides of metanotum black, prothoracic spiracle yellow; thoracic bristles black, hairs yellow, one dorsocentral, pleural hairs sparse. Abdo- men black. Legs wholly pale yellow, apical spurs small and yellow. Halteres whitish; calypteres luteous, the fringe blackish. Wings with yellow tinge becoming brownish apically, veins luteous, the third vein becoming brown, sections of fourth vein propor- tioned 1 : 1 : 2 : 2.1, the last section slightly arched, posterior



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96 Psyche [October
crossvein transverse, curved, twice as long as the last section of the fifth vein.
One specimen.
Austin, Tex., April 20, 1900.
Psila washingtona sp. nov.
Female. Length, 4 mm. Head, thorax and abdomen entirely shining jet black, the fine pubescence pale. Face one-third longer
than the front; cephalic bristles black, two minute fronto-orbitals; antennae black, the third joint bluntly triangular, one-half longer than wide, the arista black, thick at the base then subulate, its pubescence very short; mouthparts black. Thoracic bristles black, two dorsocentrals, pleural hairs not abundant. Legs mostly blackish, coxae jet black, the knees, front tibiae, tips of posterior tibiae and the tarsi brown. Halteres yellow. Wings with uniform yellow tinge, veins yellow, sections of fourth vein proportioned 1 : 1 : 2 : 0.8, the last section arched, posterior cross- vein nearly transversely located, more than twice as long as the last section of fifth vein.
One specimen. Mount Constitution, Orcas Island, Wash., July 17, 1909.
The species comes nearest the European P. nigra Fallen, which usually has from two to four dorsocentrals, one to three fronto- orbitals and the last section of the fifth vein more than half the length of the posterior crossvein; its arista is not thickened basally. P. mono Zetterstedt is also similar, but has two distinct fronto- orbitals, four dorsocentrals, black tarsi and the anterior crossvein more basally- located. P. atra Meigen has a more pubescent arista, two fronto-orbitals and four dorsocentrals well developed. Psila atrata sp. nov.
Length, 3 mm.
Head, thorax and abdomen entirely shining black, the fine pubescence yellow. Head conical, the face very greatly receding and nearly half longer than the front; cephalic bristles black, one minute fronto-orbital; antennae blackish, the third joint elliptical, the arista blackish, not greatly thickened at base, its brown pubescence short but obvious; mouthparts black. Thoracic bristles black, two dorsocentrals, pleural hairs sparse. Coxse black, femora blackish, knees narrowly brown, anterior tibiae and all tarsi brown, hind tibise broadly blackish along the



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19201 MelanderÌÔSynopsi of the Dipterous Family Psilidce 97 middle.' Halteres yellow. Wings with uniform slight yellow tinge, veins pale yellow, sections of fourth vein proportioned 1 : 1 : 2 : 2, the last section only slightly curved, posterior cross- vein nearly transverse, equal to the last section of fifth vein. Twenty specimens.
Type from Boville, Idaho, June 18, 1911; paratypes from same place (Melander), Troy (W. M. Mann) and Vollmer (J. M. Aldrich), all in Idaho; and Hood River, Ore. (F. R. Cole).
Chyliza Fallen
.................................
Dorsum of thorax yellow. .2
Dorsum of thorax mostly black, the humeri and scutellum usually red ................................................ 5 .............................
2. Pleurae more or less yellow.
.3
Pleurae and pectus black, a quadrangular black prealar spot; abdomen black; all femora with apical black ring; palpi ;
reddish (Mex.) ....................... enthea Giglio-Tos 3. Pleurae entirely yellow; wings hyaline (Fla.) ... similis Johnson Upper half of pleurae with black vitta; apex of wings ............................................ clouded 4 4. Apical cloud of wings following the margin, not widened behind, veins two, three and four ending in the cloud; pleurae marked with only the vitta. (N. J., Pa., D. C., Kans.,* Colo., La., Mex.) ( Tetradiscus pictus Bigot) . apicalis Loew Apical cloud widening behind, apex of veins two, three and four not clouded. (Mex.) ( Tetradiscus notatus Bigot, not Chyliza notata Loew) .................... bigoti, nom. nov. 5. Front and hind femora blue-black but brownish at base, front tarsi black; palpi red; wings hyaline; thorax dark green, shining. (Can.) ....................... metallica Walker Femora black except tips, tarsi yellow; palpi black; wings smoky; body black.
(Ore.*) ........ legziminicola sp. nov.
Femora largely yellowish, sometimes with subapical dark ring ............................................... 6 6. At least hind femora with well marked subapical black or brown band; wings with apical clouding, second and third sections of costa as three to one. ............................ .7 Femora yellow, at most reddish apically; wings not clouded apically, second and third sections of costa of robusta pro- portioned two to one. .............................. .I1



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98 Psyche [October
7. Femoral bands ' present on all legs; palpi brown (Europe; Mass., det. Hough) ................. annulipes Macquart Femoral bands weak or wanting on front and middle legs. ... .8 8. Vertex narrower than depth of eye; head largely yellow, ......................... punctured; halteres yellow. .9 Vertex much broader than depth of eye; head black except narrow stripe on lower occipital orbits, deeply pitted; halteres black. (Wash.,* Ore.) ....... scrobiculata sp. nov. 9. Palpi entirely black. .................................. .1O Palpi tipped with black; anterior femora apically dark; sides of thorax more or less yellow; first posterior cell basally shaded. (Mex.) .......................... varipes Wulp 10. Head, humeri, scutellum, posterior sides of mesonotum and at least sterno-mesopleural suture yellow. (N. H., D. C., N. J., Idaho.,* Wash.*) .................... notata Loew Thorax entirely black, except a reddish scutellar spot, occiput and frontal orbits mostly black. (Mass.*) . . erudita sp. nov. 11. Black; antennae, broad apices of femora, tibiae and scutellum reddish; marginal cell dark gray, costal cell brownish. (Nev.) .............................. robusta Coquillett Blackish-green; antennae black; legs yellowish; wings hyaline. (" U. S.") .......................... niqroviridis Walker Chyliza scrobiculata sp. nov.
Female. Length, 6 mm. Robust, deeply and closely punctured, with short dense woolly pale pubescence and short black bristles. Head large, eyes oblique, lower occiput deep, upper occiput flat, head coarsely punctured except the face and the shining vertical triangle which reaches half way to the antennae, front opaque except the periorbital stripes; head black except for an orbital yellow stripe on lower occiput and a small orbital spot just below the antenna1 level; antennae black above, yellow below, the third joint thumb-shaped, half longer than broad, arista brown on basal third, apically white; palpi broad, hairy and black. Thorax entirely black except the outer part of the scutellum, metathoracic callosities strong. Abdomen depressed, densely pubescent. Legs including the coxae reddish yellow, the hind femora with a subapical incomplete black annulus. Halteres black. Wings smoky black- ish throughout, darkest along the costa and at the tip, second



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19201 Melander-Synopsis of the Dipterous Family Psilidce 99 costal section three times the third, first vein ending near middle of the wing, third and fourth veins parallel. Two specimens. Spokane, Wash., 30 August (Melander) ; Whitman National Forest, Ore., July (W. J. Chamberlin) in the collection of F. R. Cole.
Chyliza leguminicola sp. nov.
Length, 4-7 mm.
Black, the anterior part of the front, the im- maculate face, cheeks, occipital orbits, antennae and scutellar margin luteous, the extremities of the femora, the tibiae except dis- tal half of hind pair, and the tarsi flavous, cox= fuscous, halteres whitish. Front square, eyes large, palpi broad, frontal bristles black and inconspicuous, arista piceous, cephalic pubescence yel- low. Thorax with strong piligerous punctures, the yellow hairs more or less whorled, bristles black, reduced in size and number to one pair each of supra-alar, intra-alar, dorsocentral and acrostichal, four scutellars. Abdomen sericeous with golden pubescence. Calypteres and fringe yellow, wings infumated, darker anteriorly, veins firm and black, costal sections proportioned 4 : 5 : 2, fourth vein 1.5 : 2 : 3, fifth vein 10 : 1, hind crossvein transverse. Three specimens sent by L. P. Rockwood, who has swept this fly from the lupine, Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl., at Forest Grove, Ore., toward the end of April. He has also found puparia at- tached to the lower part of this plant during July, from which adults emerged the following March when wintered at room temperatures. Chyliza erudita sp. nov.
Male. Length, 5 mm. Black, closely but not deeply punctured, the pale pubescence 'dense and appressed, bristles black. Head variegated black and yellow, the occiput black except the lower orbits, front subshining, centrally brownish, measuring in width seven-eighths the depth of the eye, frontal triangle narrow, reach- ing two-thirds the length of the front, two fronto-orbitals, face yellow, with two blackish subantennal spots, cheeks black except at the mouth-opening, mouthparts black, the palpi very broad; antennae yellow, the upper edge darker, arista white and feathery pubescent. Thorax entirely black except the reddish tip of the scutellum. Legs including the coxae pale yellow, the hind femora with prominent black subapical ring. Halteres pale yellow.



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100 Psyche [October
Wings with costal half infumated, second and third sections of the costa proportioned 3 : 1, third and fourth veins parallel. One specimen. Boston, Mass., May, 1914.
Strongylophthalmyia Heller
Heller, Wien. ent. Ztg. xxi, 226 (1902) Strongylophthalmus Hen- del, Wien. ent. Ztg. xxi, 179-181 (1902). One species occurs on the Pacific slope, having slender body and long legs suggestive of the Micropezidse or the Cordyluridse. The short antennae and little receding face suggest Chyliza, but the slender, impunctate and nearly glabrous body and narrow wings are distinct from that genus. The vestigial, straight and evanes- cent auxiliary vein, distinct break in the costa before the end of the first vein, relatively long basal cells, absence of oral vibrissse, slightly divergent postvertical bristles, pubescent arista, absence of distinct pleural bristles, and widely open first posterior cell indicate the family Psilidse. From Chyliza the genus stands out in having the posterior cheeks not swollen, the center of the face neither sunken nor concave, the palpi slender, the pubescence of the notum and pleurae not dense, appressed or parted in the female, the sides of the metathorax not calloused, the calypteres long-ciliate, the first vein shortened and the anal crossvein incurved. Hendel further characterized his genus as differing from Chyliza in having long ocellar and postvertical bristles, the latter located far behind the ocelli, mesopleurse with distinct prealar bristle, only two strong scutellar bristles, with which chsetotaxy the present species agrees. The pteropleural hairs are sparse. Strongylophthalmyia angustipennis sp. nov. Length, 3.5 to 5 mm.
Head, thorax and abdomen polished
black, impunctate, male with striking yellow pubescence, female with pubescence pale and sparse, bristles yellow. Head globose,
the anterior part of the front, more extended in the male, the face, very narrow cheeks, and lower occipital orbits yellow, face short and narrow, half the length of the front; eyes large, lower facets larger than the upper ones; two fronto-orbital bristles, frontal triangle not polished; antennae short, third joint orbicular, large and yellow in the male and brown and smaller in the female, arista brown, very briefly and closely pubescent; proboscis brownish,



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19201 Fall-On Certain Species of Haltica, Old and New 101 palpi narrow, yellow in the male and brown in the female. Thorax slender, pectus yellowish, pleurae nearly glabrous. Abdomen narrow, male genitalia with two small spoon-shaped end-valves and central short penis, female abdomen tapering. Legs including coxae pale yellow, the tarsi a little brownish, apex of hind femora and middle of hind tibiae usually dusky. Halteres pale yellow, calypteres yellow, with long fringe. Wings narrow, three times as long as wide, hyaline, veins brown, first vein ending at basal third of the wing, second and third sections of the costa propor- tioned 2 : 1, sections of fourth vein nearly 1 : 2: 3, the last section arching forward but apically becoming parallel with the third vein, anal vein extending two-thirds the distance to the margin, anal crossvein recurved at tip.
Twelve specimens.
Type from Potlatch, on Hood's Canal,
Wash., July 28, 1917; others from Blaine, Lynden and Auburn, Wash., and Lake Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, July to September. Several of the specimens were found on windows.