406 INSECTS OF MASSACHUSETTS. 



are orange-colored. The most common of our smaller horse-flies 

 is the Tabanus lineola, so named, by Fabricius, because it has a 

 whitish line along the top of the hind-body. Besides these flies, 

 we have several more kinds of Tabanus, some of which do not 

 appear to have been described. These blood-thirsty insects be- 

 gin to appear towards the end of June, and continue through the 

 summer, sorely tormenting both horses and cattle with their sharp 

 bites. Their proboscis, though not usually very long, is armed 

 with six stiff, and exceedingly sharp needles, wherewith they 

 easily pierce through the toughest hide. It is stated ibat they 

 will not touch a horse whose back has been well washed with a 

 strong decoction of walnut leaves. The eyes of these flies are 

 very beautiful, and vary in their colors and markings in the differ- 

 ent species. 



The golden-eyed forest flies are also distinguished for the bril- 

 liancy of their spotted eyes, and for their clouded or banded 

 wings. They are much smaller than the horse-flies, but resemble 

 them in their habits. Some of them are entirely black (Chrysops 

 ferrugatus, Fabricius), others are striped with black and yellow 

 (Chrysojjs vittatus, Wiedemann). They frequent woods and 

 thickets, in July and August. 



The bee-flies, or Bombylians (Bombyliadje), have a very 

 slender proboscis, sometimes exceeding the length of their body. 

 They are met with in sunny paths in the woods, in April and 

 May. They fly with great swiftness, stop suddenly every little 

 while, and, balancing themselves with their long, horizontally 

 spread wings, seem to hang suspended in the air. They often 

 hover, in this way, over the early flowers, sucking out the honey 

 thereof, like humming-birds, with their long bills. Our largest 

 bee-fly is the Bombylius aqualis, so named by Fabricius, because 

 the wings are divided lengthwise, in their color, into two equal 

 parts, the outer part being brownish black, and the inner half col- 

 orless and transparent. The body of this insect is short, rounded, 

 and covered with yellowish hairs, like a humblebee. It meas- 

 ures three eighths of an inch in length, and the wings expand rather 

 more than seven eighths of an inch. 



There are some flies that prey on other insects, catching them 

 on the wing or on plants, and sucking out their juices. Some of 



