12 



THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



Diptera in a Forfarshire Garden. — In the volume of this 



magazine for 1914 (p. 240) I recorded a few Diptera taken in my 

 garden here. During the present year specimens of the following 

 have been taken, all of which seem to deserve notice, (i) Pachy- 

 MERiA FEMORATA, F. As is Well known to Dipterists, the male of 

 this species, in common with others of the Empidce, has the 

 remarkable habit of catching other flies as prey, which are transferred 

 to the female at the time of pairing. The exact meaning of this 

 strange procedure is not known ; it is apparently essential to the act 

 of copulation, as the female is only seen with prey at this 

 particular time, and it has been proved that it is always provided by 

 the male. A small swarm of males was noted at 9 a.m. on the 

 loth of June flying under a chestnut tree. The morning was very 

 bright, and by standing under the tree and keeping the flies between 

 me and the light, it was seen they were all carrying prey. In each 

 case the wings of the captured fly hung down below the body of the 

 Pachyineria. Eight males were caught with the net (one at a time) 

 and the prey consisted of Dilophus febriiis, L., Bibio varipes, Mg., 

 Hydrotma occulta^ Mg., Fannia ariiiata, Mg., F. !!ia?iicata, Mg., and 

 two species of Phorbia which I cannot identify. All the prey were 

 males. No female Fachymeria was taken flying, but later on I 

 caught a pair /// coitu, and the female had a male of Dilophus 

 febriiis as prey. (2) Verrallia aucta. Fin., two males on 22nd 

 June. This interesting fly is parasitic on Frog-hoppers. It has 

 been recorded from Aberfoyle and Eonhill. (3) Roeselia antiqua, 

 Fin., a female on 6th June, my first capture of this peculiar 

 Tachinid, and my only Scottish record is Orkney [Ann. Scot. Nat. 

 Hist.., 1905) P- 27). (4) Metopiv leucocephal\, Rossi. Several 

 in June flying over the surface of the ground in bare places. A 

 number of Aculeate Hymenoptera occur in the garden, but I could 

 not associate the Tachinid with any of them. (5) Ophyra 

 LEUCOSTOMA, W., occurrcd in fair numbers in June and July 

 hovering in small swarms near trees. Their deep blue-black bodies 

 sparkled in the sun. Scottish records of this local fly are all from 

 Perthshire. (6) Pegomyia squamifer, Stein, a female of this 

 recent addition to the British List occurred on 30th August. 



Of those mentioned last year. Anthrax paniscus, Rossi, again 

 occurred, and ^[ERODON equestrls, F., was abundant, all the 

 varieties mentioned by Verrall being taken. — A. E. J. Carter, 

 Monifieth. 



