Liponeura matris, a new net-winged midge from the south of France [Diptera : Blephariceridae

Abstract

1 Details of the maie genitalia distinguish the close relatives of Lipo­ neura decipiens Bezzi from their congeners. They form a homogenous group in which only maies can be identified ail the time. This applies also to the Frenoh species dealt with here. Most of the members of the group occur on lands surrounding or on islands in the western Mediterranean Sea and this is probably the area where the group developed. L. decipiens itself extends far to the north and east and reaches the western Carpathians and the northern end of the Dinari». mountains. L. vimmeri Mannheims probably belongs to this group but is somewhat aberrant ; it is of Balkanian distribution, with a narrow extension along the Carpathians into central Europe as far west as the Harz Mts. in Germany. Two members of the decipiens group, viz. L. decipiens and L. decep­ tiva Vaillant, were previously known from France and are known to- coexist in places (Giudicelli and Lavandier 1975). Unexpectedly, a third undescribed species in this complex has now been found in the- south of France, together with L. deceptiva.