JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 



AUGUST, 1914. 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 



VIII. — The Buzzing of Diptera. 

 By P. A. Aubin, F.R.M.S. 



(Read June 17, 1914.) 

 Plates VIII, IX, X. 



Throughout this paper the term " buzzing " is used to describe 

 the high note produced by many Diptera, as distinct from the 

 lower note or " hum " produced during flight. It would, moreover, 

 appear desirable to limit this term to the sound produced by the 

 Diptera, in contradistinction to the stridulations of the Orthoptera 

 and Coleoptera, inasmuch as the organs of phonation described 

 below are quite distinct, both in principle and action, from the 

 stridulating organs or " strigils " of the other orders mentioned. 



The origin of this sound has been controversial ground among 

 entomologists for many years, and has been attributed to a variety 

 of causes. Thus, it has been said to be due to (1) vibration of 

 the wing ; (2) vibration of the thorax ; (3) to a special modification 

 of the occlusor apparatus of the stigmata ; (4) to the vibration of 

 the halteres, etc. 



Some of these statements are too general to be of any material 

 assistance in elucidating the question, and no single one, taken by 

 itself, will bear such tests as may easily be applied to living 

 specimens. 



The specialized apparatus I am about to describe in detail, 

 will however, bear successfully all such tests as I have been able 



Aug. 19th, 1914 z 



