4o?
Reprinteclfr,onr Bur,r,nrtu oF Tr{E Bnoot<t,vx ENtoltot ocICALSoctntv,
Vol. XXXI, No. 1, pp. 12-14. Febmary,1936.

THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF ANTENNAL SEG_MENTS IN THE ORDER DIPTERA, WITH THE
DESCRIPTION OF A NEW GENUS
OF CECIDOMYIIDAE
Amherst, Mass.
Bv CuIRLESP. ATBxANDER,
For many years the maximum number of antennal segmentsin
any known speciesof Dipterous insect was 39, reported nrany years
ago by Osten Sacken in the Tipulid Gynoplistia (C erosodia)
plutnosa (Osten Sacken) of New ZealancL ln receut years, thisfigure was found to be equalleclancl exceededby two speciesof
Ceciclonryiidae,Lasioptera hozuartli Felt, with 39, and Ficiom,yia
perarticulata Felt, with 4r. During the past Spring, llty goodfriend, Dr. Fred W. Edwards, in a letterwritten concerninghis
recent trip to Ruwenzori ancl other high mountains in Central
Africa, mentioneclamong other notable discoveriesthat a Bruchomyiine Psychodidhad beenfound that, with a hand-lens,appearecl
to have at least 6o antennal segments. I have now to report thediscovery of a Cecidomyiiclfronr Panarna that has no fewer than
65 such segments,ancl which would seeln to represent the rnaxilnum nunrberas yet cliscoveredwithirr the limits of the order.
The various grorlpsthat have nrulti-articulateatrteuuaeare listecl
herervith,togethers'ith the rnaxirrttunfigure reporterlto this clate.
Psychoclidae(6o, Edwards, ante)
Tanvderidae

Ptychopteridae
Tipulidae
Anisopodidae
Blepharocericlae
Simuliidae

3o Thaunraleiclae
Chironomiclae
2 5 Culicidae
20Cecidomyiidae
39 N{ycetophiliclae
t 6 Bibioniclaer 5 Scatopsidae
Rachicericlae
IO

T2r5r565
r7r7I238

Feltomyia, gen. n.
Palpi reclttced,apparently 2-segmentecl. Antennae 65-segmented; scaperelatively large, pedicelmore redttced; flagellum
consistingof 63 approxirnatelysimilar segnrents,of which theterminal one is about equal in length to the combirredpenultimate ancl ante-penultin-ratesegments and is apparently theresult of the fusion of two elements; all flagellar segmentsof
approximately the sarne shape, being globular with stout,glabrous, apical pedicels; the outer segments become moredepressecl
to appearnrore or lessdisk-like,this flatteningbeingaccompaniedby a narrowing and shortening of the pedicel.
Flagellarsegmentswith a subbasalring of from ro to rz longpowerful verticils that considerablyexceedthe segmentsin
length; remainderof surfaceof body of segmentcoveredwith
sr-nallsimple setae; a low, generalized type of circttmfilum atapex of body of each segment,just where it breaks into thepedicel,suchcircumfilamost clearly apparenton the basalandintermediatesegments.
the basitarstts
I-egs long and slender; tarsi g-segmented,
very short. Wings with the surfacecoveredwitl-r abundantscatteredmacrotrichia. Venation: Sc present,the distal encl
becomingobsoletebeyondthe origin of Rs,'Rs short; M ancl
r-vn forming a composite,gentlv arcuatedvein betweenarculusvein
and end of Rs, about as in the genus J olt,nsortorttyia,'
R,*, ( r st longitudinal) reaching C at near two-fifths thelengthof wing; vein R. (Std longitudinal)powerfttl,reachingtlre margin caudadof wing-apex; vein Cu, (Sth longitudinal)
simplebut with vagueindicationsof an anteriorbranchor fold.
Ovipositormoderatelylong and slender,the involvedsegments
cylindrical,their combinedlengthsubequalto one-thirdor onefotrrth the renrairrcler
of abclon-len.
Genotylte.-Feltomyia polymera, sp. 11.(NeotropicalRegiorr:Panam6).
I take unusual pleasurein naming this new generic group inhonor of our distinguishedspecialiston the Cecidomyiidaeof theWorld, Dr. Ephraim P. Felt. I am referring the group to thetribe Porriconclylariain the typical subfamily,basedupon the combination of presenceof circumfila on the flagellar segments;fivetarsal segments,with the basitarsusshort ; and with Rs (the soof thecalleclcrossveirr)present. However,the generalappearance
Felt, which Felt has
wing of this fly is much as in I oh,nsonornyia
tran-sferredto the Heteropezinae. Except for the presenceof recluceclcircumfila, the present fly would appear to fall more truly
irr tlre lleterop ezinae. It appearsto the present writer that theand tribeswithin the Cecidomyiidae
lirnitsof the varioussubfamilies
are far too plasticand that many of the genericgroups may well befounclto belong elsewhere. An irrordinatevalue has been placeclof the maxillary palpus. In the not disorrthe numberof segments
tantly relateclfamily Tipulidae,Edwards and I have shownthat theof such segmentsis not even of subgenericvalue in certain,',,.rr',-,t.t
in closelyallied
genera(as Linr,onia,Heratorna andothers) r,l'here,ipecies,the nttrnberof palpal segmentsmay be one, two, three orfour. Frorn all knorvngenerain the family, the new genusis mostreadily separatedby the number of antennalsegments.
It may further be noted that the so-called"crossvein" found intlre more generalizedsubfamiliesand tribes of the Cecidomyiidae
Porricondylaria)is not a crossvein(Lestremiinae,Heteropezinae,
at all but is the Radial Sector,Rs (as is well shownin Felt, N. Y.
with theSt. \{us. Bull. 257,pl. r, figs. rj; rg2;). In accordanceinterpretationof the radial field as given in recent papers by thepresentwriter, the remainclerof the so-called"third vein" is veinR, alone, sinceall evidenceshows that the elementsof the radial
field lying betu'eenRr*. (rst vein) and R. (Std vein) have been
lost by atrophy of veins rather than by fusion. The longitudinalelementconnectingRs with the wing-baseis in reality a composite
vein, including the basalsectionof vein M and the longitudinal orobliqtrer-nt, crossvein. In certain prirnitive types, as Catocha,
in position,and joins M at a strong angle,
r-rn is short,trans'i;ersegenera,it is directedbasadand assurnes
but in the more specialized
an oblique or longitudinal position. Exactly hornologousconditions are to be found in the closelyallied farniliesSciaridaeancl
in cerMycetophiliclae.The clistalsectionof vein M is preservecl
tain LestrenriinaeanclCarnpvlomvzaria.
Feltomyia polymera, sp. 11.
Fenmle.-Length, about 6 rnm.; wing, 4.5 lltll1.
Palpi pale. Antennae with scapeblack; pedicel brorvn;
flagellurnwhite throughout. Head brownishblack.
Tl-roraxunifornrlybrownishblack. Halteresdark throughout. Legs r,vith the fore coxae and trochanters black; fore
fenrorablack; tibiae darkenedsubbasallyand subapically,theinternrecliate
portion, involving about one-half the segment,
dirty rvhite; extrenretip of fore tibia and all of basitarsus
srlowvwhite ; remainderof fore tarsi snowy white, excepting
the clarkenedbase of segmenttwo; middli: femora chieflv
snowy-white,the dorsal surface on clistal two-thirds lnore
darkened; micl-tibiaabout as on the fore legs but the whitish
intermediateportion a little clearer;mid-tarsias on fore legs;
posterior femora snowv-white; posterior tibia with extreme
base and tip srlowy white, the broad intermediateportion
brownish black; all of posterior tarsi snowy white. Wings
uniformly grayish,the veinsdarker,R. beingespeciallystrongarrdconspicuous.
Abclomendark brown, the pleural region even clarker.
Habitat.-Panam5.(Chiriqui).
Holotyp€,9, Potrerillos,altitude about 3,ooofeet, NIay 6, r93S
(1. U/. MocSn'ail). Typ. preserverlirr author'scollection.