172 



HABDWICKE'S SCIENCE- GO S SIP. 



frequent flowers — chiefly composite and umbelli- 

 ferae, — but they are not particular, as long as there 

 are plenty of bees on the spot. Their manner of 

 flight is very like that of the Hymenoptera : the 

 commonest species, 0. quadrifasciata, has almost 

 exactly the same colours as a wasp, and, when fly- 

 ing, it looks so like one of those insects, that it 

 might be called the " Wasp-fly " par excellence, were 



Fig. 94. Cunups riiji/ies, male, x 4 diam. 



not the name already appropriated by several 

 Syrphidae. But the resemblance to a wasp ceases 

 in some measure when the fly is at rest; for although 

 it is about the same length (4 inch), the shape of 

 the.abdomen is different, being thicker at the end 



Fig. 95. Wing of Cono/is quadrifasciata, x " diams. Names 

 of the veins: — co, costal; sc, sub- costal ; m, mediastinal; 

 *, point where sub-costal joins the mediastinal ; r, radial ; 

 cu, cubital ; pr, pr, pra?brachial ; em, externo-medial; po, 

 post-brachial ; an, anal ; d, the discoidal areolet ; axl, 

 axillary lobe; al, alula. 



long and thin. The colour of the antennae is black'; 

 they are of considerable length, and from their 

 being carried during flight in the same position as a 

 wasp carries its antennae, the resemblance of the 

 fly to one of those insects is greatly enhanced. 

 Were it not for this, the likeness would not be great. 

 The thorax, is black, with a bright yellow spot on 

 each shoulder; the abdomen is yellow, banded with 



Fig. 96. Antenna of Conops quadrifusciatus. d, line 

 showing shape of third joint. 



than at the base, instead of being thick at the base 

 and tapering to a point, as in a wasp. The abdomen 

 of the male is longer, more slender, and has its 

 black bands broader, than the abdomen of the 

 female. The head is rather flat and broad — broader 

 than any other part of the body, and the mouth is 



3s^''' 



Fig. 9". Myopa testacea, male, x 4 diam. 



black ; and the legs are yellowish brown, with dark 

 feet. The wings are nearly transparent, but the 

 membrane becomes darker towards the fore border. 

 A magnified drawing is given at fig. 95. On com- 

 paring it vein by vein with the wing of a Myopa, 



Fig. 98. Wing of Myopa ferruginea, x 8 diam. 

 of veins see fig. 95. 



For names 



shown at fig. 93, it will be noticed that the veins are 

 almost identical, but that the general form is rather 

 different : it is longer, more pointed, and far more 

 elegant. The shape of the areolets also differs. 

 The wing of a Conops varies towards the Syrphid 

 type, that of a Myopa towards the Muscid. Both 

 have the joining of the postbrachial and anal veins 

 (po and an), a characteristic of the Syrphidae and 

 Pipunculidae, which is not found among the Mus- 

 cidae. In the wing of the Conops, the mediastinal 

 vein (m) near its end unites with the subcostal (sc) 

 in a very curious manner, as at the mark*. We have 

 never noticed this in any other fly. In the Conops, 

 the cubital vein (cu) is joined by the praebrachial 

 (pr) before it enters the margin of the wing ; the 

 areolet thus formed is identical in shape with the 



