Prochyliza brevicornis Melander, 1924

Prochyliza brevicornis Melander 1924: 81. Type locality: USA (Montana). Lectotype (♂) designated by Steyskal (in Ozerov 2003) and paralectotypes (4 ♂ and 10 ♀) designated by Ozerov (2003) in Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Material examined. 1 ♂ (CNC): Canada, Quebec, Otter Lake; 29.vii.1960; leg. E. W. Rockburne; det. J. F. McAlpine. 1 ♀ (CNC): Canada, Ontario, Grant Lake, 8–10.viii.1966; leg. J. G. Chillcott; det. J. F. McAlpine. 1 ♂ (MZLU-100): USA, Washington, Eatonville; 25.vii.1988; leg. R. Danielsson; det. Hugo Andersson. 1 ♂ (MZLU- 101) and 1 ♀ (MZLU-102): USA, Washington, Seattle; 14.vii.1988; leg. R. Danielsson; det. Hugo Andersson.

Diagnosis. The following combination of characters is distinctive of P. brevicornis: lower two- to three quarters of the frons orange (Fig. 5 B); front coxa, gena, mid femur and tibia clear yellow; hind femur and tibia partially darkened, similar to P. xanthostoma but with the pedicel not elongate.

Remarks. The species identity was confirmed by Ozerov (2003), after studying the type specimens. Biology. The larvae are necrophagous. Syed (1994) reared this species from immature specimens collected on a human corpse, and maintained a laboratory colony using a variety of larval feeding substrates which included oxtail bones, ground beef, chicken wings and cheese. McAlpine (1977) collected P. brevicornis adults on household garbage, showing the synanthropy of this species.

Distribution. Nearctic; originally recorded from Yellowstone Park, Montana and Illinois, USA (Melander 1924), the species is widely distributed throughout North America (McAlpine 1977).