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E. apicalis Hutton.
E. apicalis Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 33, p. 4 (1901). Beris apicalis White, Voy. “Erebus” and “Terror,” p1. 7, fig. 17; Walker, Cat. Dipt. B.M., p. 126. Diphysa apicalis Walker, l c., p. 1151 (1849); Hutton, Cat. Dipt. N.Z., p. 34. Exaireta analis Nowicki, Mem. Krak. Akad. Wissen., 2, p. 11 (1875).
A medium-sized fly with clouded wings and a tawny abdomen dark at the apex.
Head a little broader than the thorax at the humeri; eyes bare, dichoptic, more so in the ♀; a faint emargination above the antennae, very distinct in the ♂. In profile the eyes occupy the whole side of the head. Front shiny black with a tinge of blue and a patch of silvery tomentum just above the antennae, which are situated a little below the middle line of head; about three-quarters the width of the head in ♂ and fully one and a quarter times the head-width in ♀, being characteristically elongated. As a rule the antennae project in front of the head, but in one ♂ they are erect. First and 2nd joints bristly with a shorter pubescence, the 3rd with a dense vestiture of short and stiff pubescence obscuring the segmentation; this joint is linear and almost of equal width throughout. The 2nd joint and proximal portion of 3rd are tawny, the remainder dark brown. The apex of the 3rd joint is of unique form: the penultimate segment is truncated, from one corner of which some short and stift hairs project; the opposite corner and the adjoining half of the anterior edge of this segment are occupied by the base of the ultimate segment, which is short and oval, terminating in some stiff hairs. Face with a silvery pubescence, darker in certain lights, and with a dark medio-longitudinal stripe. Mouth-parts tawny and withdrawn, the palpi apparently 2-jointed. Occiput shiny black with a silvery tomentum.
Dorsum dark violet-black, faintly purple in certain lights, and dusted with a golden tomentum; humeri tawny; in some cases the dorsum is more or less dark tawny, with a dark violet-black spot posterior to the humeri and extending as a narrow stripe to the transverse suture. Pleurae shiny violet - black, except the sternopleurae which are pitch-black. Scutellum either tawny or dark tawny, tomentose, and with 4 tawny spines. Halteres pale tawny.
Legs tawny, the anterior tarsi fuscous except the proximal portion of the protarsi which is tawny; posterior femora thickened. The anterior and middle protarsi are equal to the sum of the remaining tarsal joints,
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but the posterior protarsus is only about one-half the sum of the remainder, its epitarsus being but a little shorter.
Wings (fig. 4) clouded with brown distally of the posterior angle of discal cell, across which from the costa and through the marginal cell the coloration is darker; proximally the wing is faintly yellow, with veins of a similar colour, but distally the veins are brown; a clear space in the marginal cell along the 2nd vein and a slightly clearer space in the 1st submarginal cell. The anterior branch of the 3rd vein may be either clouded or unclouded. Axillary angle distinctly rounded. Anterior cross-vein and 3rd vein having a common origin from the 2nd longitudinal, the 1st sub-marginal cell proximally acute. Anterior branch of 3rd vein arising almost at right angles and gently curved to the costa, and a little longer than the anterior cross-vein, which is anteriorly oblique and slightly curved. Third longitudinal vein angulated at the origin of the anterior branch, and the last section almost straight. Of the 4 posterior veins from the discal cell the 3rd is short, reaching only one-quarter of the distance to the posterior margin. Length of vein between discal and 5th posterior cells but little more than half the anterior cross-vein. The confluence of the 5th and 6th longitudinals about twice the length of the anterior cross-vein from the margin.
Abdomen linear in the ♂ but broadening beyond the middle in the ♀, where it is wider than the thorax. In the ♂ the abdomen may or may nor be restricted along the middle of the sides. There are 7 visible segments; the 1st four and a triangular spot on the anterior margin of the 5th tawny, the remainder iridescent-violet; the 1st is slightly darker Just before the posterior margin on the 2nd to 4th segments is a darker narrow band not extending to the sides.
The genital organs of both ♀ and ♂ are tawny.
♂. Length, 7 mm.; wing, 6 mm.
♀. Length, 8 mm.; wing, 7 mm.
Habitat —Throughout New Zealand; not rare. Principal localities: Bay of Islands, Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, and Otago. To be found from October to February.