CHAPTER III. 



ON THE GENERAL CHARACTERS OF THE ORDER DIPTERA AND 

 ITS SUBDIVISIONS, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE TYPE 

 FORM, ' CALLIPHORA ERYTHROCEPHALA.' 



THE blow-flies belong to the family Muscidtz, one of the most 

 highly specialised groups of the Diptera, the most highly 

 specialised order of the class Insecta. The Diptera are dis- 

 tinguished from other insects by the reduction of the wings 

 to a single pair, which are situated on the meso-thorax ; the 

 posterior or meta-thoracic wings are present in a remarkably 

 modified condition, as halteres, or balancers, and have a very 

 complex sensory organ in their base, which is perhaps con- 

 cerned in audition, so that the halteres cannot be regarded as 



Bibliography. 



11. SCHINER, J. R., 'Die Fliegen-Fauna Austriaca.' Wien, 1861. 



12. BRAUER, F., ' Monographic der CEstriden,' mit 10 Kupfertafeln. 



Herausgegeben von der K.-K. Zool.-Bot. Gesellsch. in Wien. 

 1863. 



13. BRAUER, F., ' Kurze Charakteristik der Dipteren-larven.' Verhand. 



der Zool.-Bot. Gesellsch. in Wien. Bd. xix., 1869. 



14. BRAUER, F., ' Die Zweifliigler des Kaiserlichen Museum zu Wien.' 



Part III. ' Systematische Studien der Dipteren Larven.' Denksch. 

 der K. Akad. der Wissenschaft. Mathemat. Naturwissensch. 

 Classe. Bd. xlvii., 1883. 



Contains a complete bibliography of descriptions of dipterous 

 larvae. Parts I. and II. of this paper are systematic and on 

 various genera and species. Part 1., ibid., Bd. xlii. 1880. Part II., 

 ibid., Bd. xliv. 1882. 



15. OSTEN-SACKEN, C. R., on Mr. Portchinski's publications on the 



larvae of Muscidae. Berlin. Ent. Zeitsch. Bd. xxxi., pp. 17-27. 



An abstract in English of his comparative biology of necro- 

 phagous and coprophagous larva?. 



