238 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



larva of Ephydra riparia in Europe. Saprinus cstrlatus is very 

 abundant under and among the accumulated living puparia, and feeds 

 upon them, while the larvae of one or two species of Dermestes, which are 

 also common at the same place, presumably feed only on the empty pupa 

 shells. Very few other insects, and these only of small size (small Cara- 

 bidse, Staphylinidse and Anthicidae), are to be found among the puparia ; 

 but whether or. not these feed upon the latter remains uncertain. A 

 peculiar enemy of the imago fly was observed at Syracuse. Here, in the 

 midst of the pools covered with the Ephydras, a commotion was occa- 

 casionally observed as if a fish of considerable size had risen to the sur- 

 face of the water. Mr. Hubbard succeeded in capturing one of these 

 mysterious creatures, which proved to be the larva of a toad. It 

 appeared that this tadpole comes to the surface of the water right among 

 the Ephydras, with a dexterous motion of its tail sweeps a goodly number 

 of the flies into its wide mouth, and retires again to the bottom of its ill- 

 smelling abode. The toad itself, which was found by Mr. Hubbard deeply 

 imbedded in the mud at the edge of the pools, is terrestrial and evidently 

 nocturnal in its habits, but no doubt feeds also on the Ephydras. 



Ephydra gracilis is the only insect that inhabits the open lake ; but 

 on the salt flats, where in many places the water of the shallow pools is 

 more or less mixed with fresh or sulphurous water, various aquatic insects 

 and insect larvae can be found. There are here the larvae of one or several 

 species of Tab anus ; a beautiful green Syrphid fly was seen to emerge 

 from the wet mud. There are, further, the larvae of several dragon flies 

 at least half-a-dozen Dytiscidae and Hydrophilidae with their larvse ; and 

 where there is a considerable admixture of fresh water the pools breed 

 numerous mosquitoes and sand flies {Ceratopogon). 



From what we saw on the beach of the lake and on the salt flats, a 

 specialist in Diptera will find quite a number of interesting halophilous 

 species. But we found it impossible to devote any time to this order, 

 and all I secured was a specimen of a very peculiar slender Asilid, which 

 was swiftly running over the mud, and seems to dislike to make use of its 

 wing. 



Next to the Ephydra in number of specimens comes the Heterop- 

 terous genus Salda, which is also well known to inhabit preferably the 

 shores of the ocean and other bodies of saline water. What appears to 

 be Salda interstitialis occurs in incredible numbers all over the salt flats 



