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PLATE XVIII.
( O R D E R — D I P T E R A . SECTION—ATIIERIOEEA. FAMILY—MUSCID^Í. )
; Í I Í :
FIGURE I. DIOPSIS WESTWOODII. DE HAAK.
Diopsis capite MTO, pcdunculorum ociüiferorum apicibus obsciu-is, tliorace obscure nigro, abdomine glabernmo
nigro, dimitUo basali articuli Imi. pieeo ; pedibus ful vis, tibiis ápice tarsisque obsouris, alis liyaliuis macula apicali
nubilac^ue tenui media longitudinali obscuris.
Diopsis mt h the head fulvous, the tips of the ocular pedimcles with the eyes brown, the face marked above with _
a blade angulated streali, and terminated beneath in two short spines ; antennae fulvous ; the thorax sericeous,
obscurely black, not shming ; the scutellar spines fulvous ; the abdomen very glossy and black, with half of the
basal joint tinged with pitchy red in certain Ughts ; the feet fulvous ; the fore tibias except the base and the exti-emity
of the other tibice and the entire tarsi dusky; wings hyaline, with a dusky apical spot, and a dash arising from
tlie central transverse vein. Expansion of the fore wings 7 lines.
Inhabits the Island of Java. Communicated by M. De Haan, with the MS. name adopted above.
F I G U R E 2. DIOPSIS SUBNOTATA. WESTW.
Diopsis nigra, opaca, pedunculis oculiferis parum elongatis, abdomine maculis lateralibus ciñereis fere inconspicuis,
alis nigricantibus fascia hyalina ante alteraq^ue snbinterrupta pone medium, apicibusque minus infumatis.
Diopsis black opake, with the ocular peduncles rather short; the sides of the abdomen vei-y obscurely marked with
ashy triangular spots indicating the bas3 of the segments ; the wings dusky, with a hyaline fascia crossing them
before, and another more interrupted beyond the middle of the wmg, the tips paler.
Length 0 lines. Expansion of the wings lines.
Inhabits the Philippme Islands. In the British Museum.
F I G U R E 3. SPHRYRACEPHALA HEARSEIANA. WESXW., PROC. ENT. SOC., Lond. 1st Jan. 1844, p. 99.
Sphryracephala brevis robusta, capite fulvo, nigro vario, cornubus oculiferis ahbre™tis crassis, apice nigris; thorace
gi-iseo-nigro, spina breri utrinque sub basm alarum aliisque duabus ad apicem scutelU albidis longe setigeris; abdomine
nigro nitido ; pedibus flavescentibus femoribus anticis iutus fusco macnlatis tibiisque anticis nigris ; alis
hyahnis.
Sphryracephala short robust, the head ftdvous, varied with black ; ocular peduncles short and thick, black at the
tips ; thorax greyish-black, with a short spine on each side beneath the base of the wings, and twoothers at the
extremity of the scutellum, buff coloured, and terminated by long hairs ; the abdomen black glossy ; the legs
flavesceut, with the fore thighs marked with brown on the inside near the tips ; the fore tibias black ; wings hyaline.
Length of the insect 2 Unes. Expansion of the wings 4 lines.
Inh.abits Ncemuch and other pai-ts of India. Messrs. Hearsey, Downes, &c. In Mns. Saimders, Westwood, &c.
O B S E E V A T I O N S . — I have adopted the gemis Sphiyracephala proposed by Say for a congenerous
American species^ thinking even that it belongs to a distinct subsection of the family from that in which
the typical Diopsis ought to be arranged, as indicated by the different size of the alulets at the base of
the wings and the shortness of the epistoniaj which is scarcely broader than the oral cavity. Colonel
Hearsey informs me that he capturcd several specimens of the species here figured off Ms glass doors,
and also off the leaves of lime or lemon trees and other plants in his garden, in July, August, and
September. He thinks they feed on small Aphides,* or some very minute insects of that description,
as he never caught them feediug on the honey or pollen of flowers. Some were taken in the middle
* The raptorial form of the fore leg, the thigh of which is armed with a row of very minute spines, would indicate such a habit.
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