Revision of the Hesperempis genus group (Diptera: Empidoidea: Empididae)

The Hesperempis genus group is revised. The group includes Dryodromia Rondani and Hesperempis Melander, with Melanderalus Özdikem and Başar and Toreus Melander newly synonymised with Hesperempis, new synonymy. Dryodromia includes D. testacea Rondani from the western Palaearctic and D. yunnanica Cumming and Saigusa new species from southwestern China. Hesperempis includes H. anatolica Cumming and Brooks new species, H. mabelae (Melander), H. neomexicana (Melander) new combination, H. sanduca Melander, and H. vespera Cumming and Brooks new species from the Nearctic Region, as well as H. melina Cumming and Saigusa new species, H. nipponica Cumming and Saigusa new species, and H. sibirica Shamshev from the Palaearctic Region. A key to the two genera and 10 species is provided, and a cladistic analysis is presented. A new interpretation of the homologies of the male terminalia is proposed for this lineage, and the phylogenetic relationships and zoogeographic history of the group are discussed. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 2013.