ARKIV FOR ZOOLOGI.
BAND 38A. N:o 2.

EntornologicalResultsfrom ilre sweilishExpedi.
tion 1934to Burma and British rndia.
Diptera : Ptychopteridae.
Collected.by RnNf Mlr,n rsn.
Ily

CIIARLES

P. ALEXANDEIB.

With 1 F'igure in the text.
ConrntunieatedJanuary 23rd 19.16by Yxovn S.lgsrnnr and O. LunotsLAD.

^ .I ?- greatly indebtedto Dr. RnNf MeLArsEforthe privilegeof being _ableto study the rich collections of Tipuloidea thi,twere mad.eby his expedition in 1934. rn this pup*" only the
Ptvchopteridae are considered,the much more numerous Tipulidae and o'her groups_being reservedfor later papers. All
types and uniques of the species herein discussbd-will bepreservedin the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet,stockholm.
. .flg Ptychopteridaeconstitutes a small family of Diptera,
irrcluding three€enera unq approximatelyfifty species.'T*oof the gener&,BittaeomorphaWnsr*ooD and bitiotomorphellaAr,nxlNDHn, are chiefly restrieted to the Nearctic R6gion,
Ti!h^ two speeiesof the _latter genus occurring in Japao.-Thu
cliefgenus, Ptrychoptera
MorcEN,occu"sin the Nearctic,Palaearctie, Ethiopian and oriental Regions,although at the present
rnoment with no known forms in either t[e Neotropical orAustralasian Regions. fn the llimalayan and fndo-Chineseareas' there appears to be a marked cotteetrtrationof species!hu,t 3"9 presumably still poorly known. F ive specieswere
includecl in the present materials of which no fewer thanfour proved to be und.eseribed.
Key to the Indo-Ilimalayan and ChineseSpeciesof Ptychoptera.
1. -Bs elongate, more than trviee

Rn*u

Arkia 16r zoologi. Bd 38 A. N:o 2.

2

ABKrv riin zool,ocr. BAND38 A. r:o 2.

'l- ^'-,\NORTHEB}TSH

Fig. 1. Sketch-map of the route of the Expedition with collecting loealities.
The Expetlition consistetl of Dr. Mer,ersr: antl his rvife.
Rs very short, approximately equal to or shorter than r"lt atttl less than
' 6
one-fou"rthRn+u'Wingsvery heavily patterned rvith brown, the darkened areassubequal2.
in eitent io the ground; trvo conspicuous brown narkings basad of tbe
P- bellula Ar'rx'
bantl at cord. (Soltneastern China)
Wings unpatterned or with the markings very reduced,there being none
' 3"
. . . .
b a s a t l o t [ h e e o r d . . . . .. . . .
bron'ndark
3 . Mesothorax yellow, the praescutum patterned with narrow
pale brorvn markings at eord and over thelines; wings with restricted -Burma)
P. malaisea' sp' n'
i-L of -Ba"*6. (Northeastern
Mesothorax not as above, at least the praescutum uniformly blackenetl.;
'4
"
..
"
. o......
w i n g s u n p a t t e r n. .e d .

cHAR,LESP. ALEXANDETi, I'TYCHOPTERIDAE

1. Nlesonotnmand pleura yellow, the praeseutunrabmptly blaekened.
P. clitellaria Ar,nx.
iSouthwestern China'
trlesopleuraunifornrly blaekened.
6. Wings 'rvith ,'-nt sonre distanee before fork of -Rs; fenora with tlistal
thirtt or more brilliant yellou'. (Northern India; northeastern Bulma)
P. tibial'is Bnuxnrrt.
Wings rvith 't'-nt close to the fork of Bs; femora uniformly blackened.
P. iehneu,monoidea
sp.n.
iNortheastern llurma)(Northeastern
6. Thorax yellorv, the praeseutumabruptly blackened.
Burma)
praescu,tellarisP.
sp. n.
blaekened,this eolor involving the scutellum and postnotunr. 7
n'Iesonotunr
7. Thoracic pleur:r yellorv, t'ontrasting rvith the chiefly blackenednresonotum.
(Burma: Shan states
P. annandalei BnuNnrlr.
'fhorax uniformlyblackened.
. . . . . . . . . . o .
. . .8'l'ibiae,Northern
8.
and tarsi entirely black.
India) P. dislineta BsvNETTr.
Tibiae brorvnish 1'ellorv, the tips narrowly darkened; tarsi broll'nish
blaek to blaek. Northeastern llurma)
P. perbona sp. n.

In addition to the specieskeyed, there are in southeastern
Asia three further d,escribedforms, oecurring in Formosa,
Sumatra and Java. AII of these are superficiallylike an?tendalei ancl rvouldrun to this latter speeiesby the use of the liey.

Ptychopteramalaisei sp.n.
Size large (wing over I mm); genera,lcoloration of rnesonotum yellow, the praeseutum with four black lines, theelongate intermediate pair united behind; lateral borders ofmediotergitenarrowly darkened;head yellow, vertex blackened:femora blackenedapically, the basesbroadly pale; tarsi black,the proxinralportion of basitarsirestrictedlybrightened;wings
brownish yellow, very restrictedl.ypatterned with pale brown;Rs long, subequal to or only a little shorter than Rr+u, r-nt,
close to its fork; basal abdonrinal segmentschiefly yellow,
the outer fi ve segments uniformly black; male hypop.ygiurnrvith the notch of the tergite unusuallvwide, the lateral lobes
relativel.yslender.
lIale. Length about 10 mm; wing 9.r-10.s mm; antenna
about 4-4.2 mm.
Female.LenEth about 9.0mm; wing 10 -10.b nrm; antenna
2.9-2.irnm.

Rostrum light yellorv, labella a trifle darker; palpi pale.yellow, especially the unusually elongate terminal segment.
Antennae (nrale) of moderate length; basal three or four Begments yellow, the remainder black; flagellar segmentscylindrieal, verticils short; in female, the proximal seven or eightsegments yellow, the outer segments darkened. Ilead yellow
beneath ancl in front of antennal bases;vertex blackened,theposterior portion, oeeiput and postgenaeabruptl.y;'ellow; on

4

ARKrv riin zoor,oGr.BAND38 A. r.r:o2.

t!. postgenae, on either side of the occipital foramen and.
close to the margin of the compound eye with u blackenecl
spot that appears almost like an ocellus.
Prothorax uniformly .yellow. Mesonoturnyellow, the praesculoT conspicuouslypatterned with black, including two elongate
intermediate lines, separateand slightly wider af their antJriorends, narrowed.and nearly united into a loop on the scutum;
besides these lines, narrow strips on the posterior border ofpraescutum iust above the wing root; lateral borrlers of mediotergite narrowly margined with brownish black. Pleurauniformly yellow. Halteres infuscated,the baseof sternrestrictedly yellow. Legs with the coxaeand trochantersyellow; femora blackened apically, the bases broadly yellow, involving
atout the proximal half on the fore and rniddle pairs, about
the proxirnal three-fourths to four-fifths on posteiior femora;
tibiae brownish r-ellorv to brown, the tips narrowly darker;
tarsi black, the proximal portion of basitarsi r ery restricteclly
brigh-tened;tibial spurs long ancl very conspieuously
hairy ;
-spinoustarsal segments one and two with a row oi erectsetae along_ventral faee, additional to the normal appressed.
vestiture. Wings brorvnish yellow, the prearcular and costal
fields more saturateclyellow; a very restricted.and ineonspicuous
pale brown pattern, including origin of -8.s,eord.and. iork of
Rt +s but not of Mr +zi veins brown, brighter in the flavous
portions. Maerotrichia of cells relatively restrictedin number.
Yenation: -Bs unusually long. from about four-fifths to fully
equal in length to R++;i t.-nt at oriust before fork of J?r;cell trI, very small.
Abd,omen with basal four segments yellow, the tergites
slightly patterned. with brownish black, appearing chiefly as
eaudal rings, those of the outer segmentsmuch wider; basal
sternitesunifornrly yellow; outer abclominalsegments,inclucling
the genitalia of both sexes,uniformly black. O vipositor with
cerci unusually broacl at base, narrorved to an acute point.
lVlale hypop.ygium(FiS. 2) relativel.ylarge, the tergite relativel.y
small, the sbernal reEion large and conspicuousl.vproducecl
ventrad, provideil with dense brushes of strong reddish setaethat are direcbed chiefl.y eaur:lad,three of these setae very
stout and flattened.,forining a, row. Ninth tergite, gt, transverse, eaeh outer lateral angle proclueedeaudad.into a, palefingerlike lobe that is about as long as the tergite opposite
its origin; lobes separatedby u broad quadrate noteh; surfaee
of tereite rvith a, lo rv subconieal or round,ed dusky nredianlobe. Dististyle, cl, with three distinct lobes, the outer one
short-stemmed, unequall.v bificl, the outer lobule broadly flattened, the inner one mueh more slender, both lobules with

C'HARLES P. ALEXANDER,PTYCHOPTERIDAE.

cnumerouselongatesetae;intermediatelobe a strong,darkened,chiefly glabrousblade,the truneatedapex even ,oor-.blackened,
providecl rvith severalsetae; basal tobe semioval,rvith
strongspinoussetaeon the outer aspect,thoseon the lower or caudal
faee rnore delicate.
Hql11ty1t9,
alcoholic d, Karnbaiti. altitude 6g00 feet, March
2.9, 1934 (Moursn). Altotopotype,?, with the type. paratopot11pe.*,
April 1, I 934.
take great pleasurein dedicating this distinct fly to thecollector, Dr. Rpxn Mer-,ArsE,who f,u* added vastly to our\l:wledgg of the inseet fauna of Burma. The speciesis very
different from alt of those now known from Asia, being mlst
nearly allied to-Ptrychoptera
ir:htternnonoiclea
sp.n. and p. tibialis
Bnuwnrrr, as shown trv the kev.

Pt.vehoptera
tibialis Bnuunrrr.
1 1 1 | . l t y c l l o p t e r r tt i b i a l i s I i r i r - x n r . r . rI;t e c . I n r t i a n t r I u s . ,6 : 2 B B .
1 9 1 1. P t y c l t o \ t t t , r u t r i t a ' s i s I i r i r - \ l ; . l , r;. rl . c . , 6 : Z : l l .

Described frotn Darjili,ng, Uastern Hirnala.ras. Karnbaiti,'badl.v
6800 feet, APril I , I g3i (IIr r,r rsn); a single
da*aledsp e c i n r e ni n a l c o h o l .
Ptychoptera ichneunlonoidea sp.n.
General eoloration black, the second.abdominal segment
abluptl,I -obscure-orange.;
flagellar segments ; ellow-;pos-basal_
terior tibiae and basitarsidilated, obscor. *tiite; wings bro*riirt.vellow, unpatterned; lls elongate, about two-lhirc]f 1?n+uand.
in direct lons'itudinal alignmlnt with this vein i ?.-ntclose tofork of /ls.
I,'enmle. Length about I 1 lnm; wing 10 mm.
Rostrum ancllabella clarlibrown; palpi ivhitened,the incisuresand distal thircl of the last segment clarker. Antenlae l bsegmented;::ape ?n,t peclicelreddish brown, succeedingthree
segm.entsyellow, the remaining flaEellar segments blacf,; first!3sellal segmentlong_erthan the succeedingTwotaken togethe".
Head blaelr, more reddened beneath.
Thorax unjforml-.rfrolished blaek, oll.y the scutellunr slighgy
brightened: dorsc,pleural rnembrane darkened. Halterer-*itt
stem a'd base of knob_ dusky, remainder somewhat paler.
LeEs with fore and middle
eoiae yellow, the baseof fore pai"narrowlv darken.d, posterior co*ae uniformly blackened;iro_chanters obseureyellow; fore legs broken; midcilefemora obscureyellow, at apex passinginto brownish black; tibiae and basitarsi
obscure vellow, the orte" tarsal segmentsblaclrened;posterior
femora obscure .yellow,the tips lesi distinctly darkened;tibiae

6

A R K r v r t i n z o o r , o c r . B A N D3 8 A . w : o 2 .

a a
a a .

t"

f.t

'.'1
. J
t a :

t
trig. 1-. Ptuchopter&praescutellarfssp. n.; veuation'
Fig. 2. Piilchiptera ntalaisei .sp.n.;male bl'poplgium'!.i[. B. Pt'iclfptera ?raesar,tellarissp. tt.; male h.ypopygium.
Fig. 4. I'tilehoptera lierbol?asp. n.; male hypopygiunr'
Fig. 6. Ptuetiptcra praesaftellarfs sp. n.; male hypop;'giunt.
isrynrbo/s:r/, dististyle; f, tergiter

restrictedly brightened basally, the distal fourth dirty w]aite'
the intermeitiate portion brownish black; basitarsi dirlf white,
the tip arrd.remainder of tarsi black; distal end of tibiae andall Urit the rlistal end of basitarsus ctilated; vestiture of thewhitened. portions pale. Wings with a strong brownistr yellow
yellow;tinge, the prearcular and eostalregions somewhatcl_earersfifmal region not different,lycoloied; veinsbrown. Ma,erotriehia
of cells abundant but .*uil and inconspicuous. Yenation ^[?selongate, in tlirect longitudinal alignment with frr+s, about

C H A R , L E S P . A I - , E X A ND E R , . P T Y C H O P T E R I D A E .

two-thirds to three-fourthsas long as the latter ; ?.-n?,closetofork of fts; cell nI, relatively small, ^ little more than onethird cell Rri distal section of Cu, only moderatelysinuous.
Abdomen brownish black, segment two abrupily obscureorange.Ovipositorwith the cercirelativelyshort;baseblackened,
the remainderhorn-yellow,the extremetip infuseated.
Holotape,alcoholic ?, Kambaiti, altitude ?000 feet, Mav
29, 1934 (Mnl,usu).
Ptycltoltteraieltneumonoidea
is entirely distinct from otherregional species of the genus. The most sirnilar form is P.
tibialis BnuNnrrr, an entirely different fly. f possessa nurnberof co-type specimensof tibialis, received in exehangewith
Bnuxprrr, and all of these show r-m somedistancebeforethef ork of .IJs.

Ptychopterapraescutellatissp.n.
General coloration of thorax yellow, the disk of the praescutum and. adioining portions of the scutum abruptly black;antennae (male)long; fernorayellow, the tips narrowlyblackened;wings with a -vellow tinge, restrictedl.r'patterned with darker;
fts very short, subequal in length to r'.?n;male h.ypopygiumwith the tergite profoundly emarginate, the lateral arms longancl slender.
lWale. Length about I rrm; wing 8.:l mm; antenna over
7 mm.
I"emale. Length about 10 mm; wing 10 mur.
Rostrum and labella brown; basal seEmentsof palpi yellow,
the outer segments slightll' darker. Antennae with scapeand
pedicel light brorvn, flagellum uniformly darlr brown, the basal
two-thirds of the first segment I'ellow. Head black.
Pronotum yellorv. Thorax uniforml.r' yellorv, excepting thepraescutum and adioining portions of the scutum which form
a solid blackened.disk. Halteres weakly darkened. Legs withthe coxaeand trochantet'syellow; femora vellow, the tips narrowly
blackened,slightl.ymore extensivelyso on the fore legs; tibiae )'ellow, the tips blackened; basitarsi obscure brownish yellow on
proximal portion, remainder of tarsi passinginto black. Wings(Fjg. t) rvith a .yellowish tinge, the prearcular ancl costal fields
clearer yellow; a ver.y restricted to scareely evident dark pattern alorrE cord and. at the forks of R++r and lJfr+2, veinsdark bro wn , brighter in the flavous portions. Macrotrichia ofouter eells relatively restricted,,as compared with other speeies.
Yenation : /?s very short, subequal in length to ?'-m; basal
seetion of Rt +s distinct, perpendicular, about one-third as
Iong as frs; cell Rt subequal in length to its petiole.

A R , K r vp i i n , z o o r - , o c r .t s A N o3 8 A . x : o 2 .

Abdomen (rnale) rvith basal tergites yellow, their caudal
urargins broadly ringecl with black, the subterminal seg'ments
tno*e unif ormly blackened; basal sternites Inore un iformly
yellow; hypopygium obscureyellow; in the female,onl.y theLasal tergiteJ yellon', the micl-dorsal portion of the third
blackened,the succeedingsegmentsunif ormly black ; base of
ovipositor obscure brorvnish yellow; cerci blackenedat basea.d less evidently so at apex; sternitesobscureyellorv,thecaudal borders rather narrowly blackened, the seventh andeighth sternites more extensivelyblackened.Male h.yPgpl'gium(Figs. 3 arrd,5) with the tergite (Fig. 3 9t) profoundly ernarginate, the lateral arms long and. slender, a little dilated on
iresal f ace near base and here provided with long abundantanclslightly inf_uscated,setae; apex of lobe again ryeaklyclilated.
provicledwith long conspicuoussetae,especil]ly-on the outersurface. Dististyle (Fig. 5, d) relatively stnall, bearing threeprincipal lobes, the outer lobe relativel.y short and. clavate,
provided with long conspicuousseta, the longest_9"1I a little
shorter than the lobe itself ; intermediateartn broadly flattened,
the entire marEin but especiallythe caudal end with abundant
short blach spinous setae,chiefly retrorse; in axil of this lobe
with a small fingerlike lobule or flange; basal lobe bifid, thernore posterior lobule slender, with unusually long and _abund.ant setae and add.itional microscopic setulae; outer lobulewith shorter and stouter setae on the distal half only, without
interpolated.setulae.
Iiolotape, alcoholic 6, Kamba_iti, altitude 6500 feet, Muy
with the t.ype.Pat'atopotype,,
16. 1934(Murrsr:). Allotopotype,9,
1 d, June 4,, 1934.
Although very similar in its generalcoloration to Ptglcltoptet'athe present fly is actuallv very d.istinct
clite.llariaAr,pxLNDER,,,a,sis well shown b.y the venatiorr,with -Rsvery short, subequal
In clitelluria -Rsis elongate,nearly straight,
in length to I'-?t?,.
and in direct longitudinal
more ltrun three times as long as ?'-1nalignment with ftn+u.

Ptychoptera perbona sp.n.
Heacl and thorax almost uniformly blackened,including
the entire mesonotum; antennae(male)relativelylong; femora
yellow, the tips narrowly blackened,tibiae brornnishyellow;*iog. pale veliow, with incomplete brown crossbandsat eord'tLe outer forks; apex of wing lessintenselydarkenecl;
and.'across-Rs short; male hl popygiurn wi th the dististyle shallowly andunequally bifid at apex.

CHARLES I'. ALEXANDER, PTYCHOPTERIDAE.

rfale. Length about T-7.b mm; wing 7.s-g.; mm; antenna
4.2-4.s nrm.
Female. [,ength about 8.s mm; wing about g mm.
Rostrum brown, labella yellow; palpi yellow, the terminal
segment somewhat darker. Antennae moderately long; scapeand pedicel black,flageilar segment yellow, ,uE .eding{r.!
segments brownish black; flagellar segmentsc.ylindrical. Heaf,
black.
Prothorax small, c.hie-flpr
pale. Thoracic d.orsum,including
pleurotergite, uniforml-r'_btacl or blue black, the pi.o"u morebrownish black; dorsopleural membrane pale. Hatteres withsteq pale, knob weakly infuscated. Legs *itn all coxaeyellow;
trochanters vellow; fernora-yellow,the tipr narrowly blackened,
the amount.sub_equalon ali IgSs; tibiae brownish"yellow, theliPt - narrowly darkened; tarsi bro rvnish black, passing into
black. Wings chiefly pale yellow, with narrow brown crossbands at cord and acioss lne ooie" forks, not reaching thep-osteriorborder; wing ape_xdistinctl.y darkenedbut paler thanthe bands; prearcular and costal cells yellow veins brown,;
not or scareely darker in the infuscated areas, paler in theflavous- portions. Macrotrichia of cells abundant^,occupyiog
more than the distal third of wing, in the Anal fie1l and inouter ends of cells n ancl M eitending even more basad.
Venation: -R,sunusually short, as in the- group, from three_fifths to about two-thirds- ?'!?t; both fork6d .Litr relatively
deep,-JlI, being about one-half Rt.
Abdomen rvith basaltergite black; succeedingtergites brownish black, the second with a major.yellorv area on either sideat near midlength; third tergite *itn more than the basal
half yellow; outer segmentsuniformly darkened,the hypopygium
somewhat paler, in cases obseureyellow. Male hyp";yliu(Fig'. +) with t-h. tergite !)t, profounil.v bifid, each urtit sll'de",a little clilated at apex and here with rnore ablndant an4
conspicuous black setae..Dististlle, cl, eonsisting of a gen6y
curvecl rod that is slightl.y. expanded outwardl] and feakf!
bilobecl at tip, the smaller' inner lobule with rnore numerous
but shorter erect to retrorse setae; outer lobule with elongate
normal setae on outer nrargin ; at base of style with two small
lobes, the outer one with-more abundant Lnd stouter black
setae. Sternite of typical form with eaeh half prod.uced.
into
slender.spinous
point;
in the subspecies?
fl,auiuerltris,described
below, this appears to be lackine.
-.,^Ho,lo!!/pt,alcoholic d, Kambalti, altitude ?000 feet, June 4,193{ (M^r-,e-rgn).Altotogltyye: ?L with the t.ype. paraiopittypes,

numerousdd, .fewer??, attitude 6b00-?0bb feet, M# i-6-

June 16, 1934 (Mrr,rrsn).

10

ABKrY riin zoor,ocr. BAND38 A. N:o 2.

Certain of the specimenshave the wing pattern paler andthe abtlomen,exceptingthe black basaltergite, is almostuniformly
reddened,lacking the conspicuousclark pattern of the typicalform. Such specimensa,ppearto be fully-coloredand give thedecided impressionof representinga distinct species.However,from the structure of the male hypopygium, I must eonsider
them to be specifically the same but believethem to represent
a distinct subspecieswhich I hereby designate Ptychopttera
flauiuentris subsp.n.
Tterbona(Holotype, alcoholic d, Kambaiti, altitude 7000 feet, June
L2, 1934). As ind,icatedabove, there appear to be differencesin the sternite of the male hypopygium but the tergite and.
clististyle are very similar in the two forms.
Among the previously described.species, the present fly
seemsto be closestto Ptychopterad.istinctaBnursErrr(Eastern
Himalayas: Darjiling) which differs espeeiallyin the colorationof the antennae,legs and abdomen. It seemseertain that thevenation, as twice figured by BnuNErrr, is incorrect,especiallyas regard.sthe course of vein Cur.

Trvekt clen 1 8 a p r i l 1 9 1 6 .

Uppsala 1946. Almqvist & Wiksells Boktryckeri AB