F. R. Cole.
New Species of Asilidae from Southern California.
Psyche 23(3):63-69, 1916.

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PSYCHE
VO! 'XI11 JUNE, 1916 NO. 3
-.
NEW SPECIES OF ASILIDE FROM SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA?
BY FRANK R. COLE,
Scientific Assistant, Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture.
The species described in this article were all collected in San Bernardino County, California.
There are many asilids in this
region, and no great amount of collecting has been done since Co- quillett worked over this section. Any extensive collecting is certain to bring to light new forms. In traveling only a short distance here, one will encounter a great variety of ecological conditions. There are many flowers at all seasons of the year and the mild climate permits of almost uninterrupted collecting. In the preparation of this paper the writer is indebted to Mr. Fred- erick Knab for the use of the National Museum collection, which contains much valuable type material in this group. Cophura highlandica sp. nov. (Plate VIII, fig. 4). 9. Length, 7 mm. Head yellowish gray pruinose. Body black, mostly hidden by pollen.
Front yellowish gray pollinose.
Face gently convex.
Mystax white and extending nearly to the antennae.
First joint of antenna slightly longer and more slender than second. Third joint four times as long as second, and slender. Style not very slender, rounded at end.
Thorax gray and light
brown pruinose.
Two dark brown vittse, broad in front and nar- rowed behind. Thorax very convex. A shining black spot above supra-alar groove and two of the same size just in front of 1 Published by permission of the Secretary of Agriculture. Pu&e 2363-68 ( 1916). hup ttpsychu einclub orgt23t23-061 html



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64 Psyche [June
scutellurn. Bristles of thorax black. Fan-like row of bristles in front of halteres yellowish. Two large bristles on margin of scutellum near center, and two small ones outside of these. Ab-
domen shining black marked with yellowish gray pollen. Pile of thoracic dorsum very sparse. Pile of legs white, the bristles pale yellow and white.
The pollinose bands on abdomen on each
side reaching the posterior margin at sides. A black polished spot
in center of each lateral patch of pollen. Tarsi black. Bases of tarsi, the tibiae, and tips of femorge reddish brown. Wings yellowish hyaline, the extreme apex brownish. Light clouds on veins at bases of discal, submarginal and posterior cells. Type-U. S. N. M., Cat. No. 20185. One specimen. Habitat-East Highlands, Cal., Nov. 25, 1914. Lestomyia redlandse sp. nov. (Plate VII, fig. 2). 3. Length, 9 mm. General color blackish. Face and front black. Yellow pollen on face and along oral margin. Antenna1 triangle black, semi-shining. Mystax white (mostly broken off in this specimen). Scant pile on front near eyes. Two black bristles on underside of second antenna1 joint. Antennae black with cylindrical arista which is more than twice as long as wide. The third segment of antennae begins to widen some distance from base. Occipito-orbital bristles whitish. No markings on dorsum of thorax, which is pollinose. Thoracic bristles black and strong. Scutellum with six strong upcurved bristles on margin. There are three bristles on each side and they converge and cross each other. Halteres yellow. The fan-like row of bristles before the halteres is yellowish. Abdomen dark gray pruinose. There is a shining black spot on each side of second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth segments. Short recumbent white pile on dorsum of ab- domen. Hypopygium brownish red, base shining black. Narrow rim on posterior margin of each abdominal segment a dull reddish color. Legs red. Some red color on coxae. Black ring on all femorse, broader on the hind ones. Tibiae black except base. Spines on legs mixed black and white.
Wings hyaline.
Type-U. S. N. M., Cat. No. 20186. Single specimen. Habitat-Redlands, Cal., 1913.




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Cole-New Species of Asilidce
Lasiopogon drabicolum sp. nov. (Plate VIII, fig. 3). 8, 9 . Length, 8-9 mm. Ground color black. Densely gray pollinose.
The pollen of head and thorax with a yellowish tinge. A great deal of white pile on the body.
Ocellar bristles black
and white mixed and very slender. Occipito orbitals black. One black bristle above on second joint of antenna. The rest of the
antenna1 bristles fine and white in color. Two very faint brown
stripes on thoracic dorsum of 9.
Two dark brown widely sep-
arated stripes on thorax of $, wide at the shoulders and nar- rowing toward the center of the dorsum where it disappears. Pile of palpi white. In both d71 and 9 the pile of front is white and black mixed. Short white pile on thorax. Abdomen covered with short whitish oppressed pile, longer at lateral margins. The
mystax black and white and quite heavy.
Eighth abdominal
segment of 9 polished black.
A circlet of black bristles on gen-
italia.
Scutellum flat, with a semi-circular impressed line as in arenicola.
Several spines on margin of scutellum, the stronger ones long, black and upcurving.
Hypopygium black, slightly
pollinose, and covered with white pile and black hair. Legs black,
gray pollinose, with white pile and slender black bristles. Tarsi of
$dark reddish brown almost black in front. Tarsi of Q blackish.
Wings grayish hyaline with brownish black veins. Venation
normal, the anal cell closed.
Anterior crossvein not much before
middle of discal cell. In these specimens all the posterior cells wide open.
Type-U. S. N. M., Cat. No. 20183.
One male and one female
specimen.
Habitat-Redlands, Cal., 191 3.
These small robberflies were collected on wild flowers, and one of them was observed capturing a small cecidomyiid. Metapogon pictum sp. nov. (Plate IX, fig. 5). 3. Length, 7 mm. General color black. First two segments of antennae black, gray pruinose. Thorax grayish pollinose, the vittse brown in color and coalescing.
The brown markings vary
in different specimens.
Some of the spots are golden brown in
color.
In some specimens the brown markings do not extend to



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66 Psyche [June
the scutellum. Border of scutellum gray pruinose, yellowish in center. Abdomen yellowish gray pruinose, hind margins of all except last segment polished black, the last three narrowly. An- terior third of second segment polished black. Second, third,
fourth, fifth, and sixth segments with a black spot on each side. The gray pruinose fasciae on all the segments vary in size and shape, in all but the last segment running almost to the median line. The
gray pruinose spots on the seventh segment are confined to the lateral margin. Meso, sterno, and pteropleurae bare, and gray pruinose with golden brown spots.
Scutellum rounded and with a
subapical pair of stout bristles.
Femora black, the tips of the
middle and hind ones being gray pruinose in front. Knees dark
reddish brown. Tibiae and tarsi dark reddish brown. Legs very much darker beneath. White hairs on legs quite thick, the bristles strong and either brown or white. Halteres grayish brown, lighter at tip and base. Supra-alars reddish yellow, the rest of the thoracic bristles black. Antenna1 style about one third as long as third joint. Mystax mixed yellow and white. In two
specimens the front pair of dorso centrals are partly reddish. Wings hyaline.
Broad brown spots at base of discal, posterior and submarginal cells. Tip of wing brown. Genitalia polished black.
Type-U. S. N. M., Cat. No. 20184. Several paratypes in author's collection.
Habitat-East Highlands, Cal., February, 1915. This species is quite close to punctipennis Coq ., but the markings 'differ, and the spots of the wing are darker and more distinct. In punctipennis the tip of the wing is hyaline, and the base of the marginal cell has no brown color.
The thoracic and scutellar
bristles of pictum are black, those of punctipennis are yellowish. 'The tarsi of pictum are darker, and the knees black. In punc- .tipennis the knees are red and the gray pruinose fasciae on the ab- domen are broader. A number of specimens of this new species were collected, most of the material being in the author's collec- tion in California and not available for study. These small flies were collected on the dead twigs of sage brush (Salvia mellifera) and the wild alfalfa (Lotus glaber) so common in Southern Cali- iornia, and are not very quick on the wing.



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Cole-New Species of Asilidce
Lestomyia montis sp. nov. (Plate IX, fig. 6). Q . Length, 9 mm. Black or blackish in general color. Face black with white pollen on convexity. Mystax white. A black bristle on each side just above oral margin. Tuft of six black ocellar bristles. Yellowish white pile on each side of front. An- tennae black, gray pollinose. Four indistinct blackish stripes on dorsum of thorax. Gray and yellow pollen on thoracic dorsum. Fan-like row of bristles before halteres yellowish. Halteres yellowish. Abdomen black, gray pollinose. Black polished spot on each side of second, third, fourth, and fifth segments. Gen- italia and most of sixth and seventh segments shining. Femora. black. Tarsi brown.
Femora red at tip and with a tinge of dark red color at base.
Base and distal end of tibiae black. Bristles on legs black. White bristles on coxae. Thoracic bristles black and very long. Wings yellowish hyaline.
Type-U. S. N. M., Cat. No. 20187.
One specimen.
Habitat-Bear Valley, Cal., June, 1913. Collected at an al- titude of about 8,000 feet.
This species differs from fraudiger in the third joint of the an- tenna being more rounded. The front femora are black at the base. Nicoces lornse sp. nov. (Plate VII, fig. 1). 3.
Length, 11 mm.
Ground color of thorax dark brown and
black, thickly pollinose. Dorsum of thorax black, with a median narrow wedge of silvery pollen running to center of dorsum. Sil-
very pollen on sides of thorax just above dorso pleural suture and on pleurae. Brown pollen on pleurae and in front of scutellum. All abdominal segments shining yellowish red. The posterior margin of second segment of abdomen has a small lateral pro- jection which is silvery pollinose above. Base of second segment shining black, and the narrow lateral margin darkened. Fifth abdominal segment not more than three times broader than long. Yellowish and silvery pollen on coxae. Fifth and sixth segments bright silvery pollinose. Fourth segment slightly narrower than fifth. Abdomen with recumbent reddish yellow hair. Hy- popygium small in type specimen. Face easily one-fourthentire width of head. Inner margin of eyes slightly converging near an-



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68 Psyche [June
tennae.
Face and front flat and thickly brown and silvery gray pollinose.
Two rows of long reddish brown bristles on oral mar- gin, a few long white hairs above, extending to antennae. Ocellar bristles brown. Cilia of posterior orbit brown. Antennae black, gray pruinose. First two joints of antennae with brown bristles. One strong bristle beneath second joint. Third joint flat and
slightly longer than first two joints together. Style rather slender
acuminate, and less than half as long as third segment. Post-
alars and supra-alars quite long and brown in color. White pile
on scutellum and just in front of.
Legs medium slender, rounded.
Tibiae and tarsi very spinose. Femora hairy. Hind metatarsi with many short strong spines beneath.
Hind femora slender on
basal two-thirds and with a club-like thickening toward the end. Hind tarsi thick and heavy. Metatarsus almost as long as three following joints. Legs reddish yellow, the tarsi dark brown dis- tally. Front femora dark brown. Bristles of legs reddish yellow and pile white. Wings elongate and variegated with blackish brown, basal third being hyaline. Tip of anal cell blackish, pos- terior cells in part blackish.
Fifth posterior cell all black.
Hya-
line spot in marginal cell. Discal cell all dark. Type-U. S. N. M., Cat. No. 20200.
Habitat-Redlands, Cal., April, 1914.
There are three paratypes in the U. S. N . M. collection. These are all males.
Two are labeled "Los Angeles Co., Cal., Co- quillett," and in these the abdomen is more of a reddish color than in the type. The other specimen is labeled "September, Los Angeles Co., Cal." and is smaller and lighter in color than the others, the abdomen being yellow. These specimens are probably faded to some extent but agree very well with the type. As in the described specimen the venter is brown with silvery pollinose areas, and is thickly dotted with small dark brown spots. The wings are marked as in the type but are more of a brownish color. The type was taken on a sandy plot of ground in the foothills south of Redlands, Cal.
This species is quite close to abdominalis, but does not have the tinge of red on the thorax. The last segment of the abdomen is narrower, and the bluish black color of the abdomen is confined to the base of the first and second segments. In lorn; the brown of
the wings is cut off sharply and does not spread into the basal



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