BY R, J. TILLYARI). ' 287 



feet). This insect bad the head, thorax, and abdomen of a 

 Dipteron, and its mouth-parts also appeared to resemble those 

 found in the same Order, Only the wings showed it to be truly 

 Mecopterous, though even in these some striking diiferences 

 were to be noted from the more typical wing-plan of the Order. 

 For instance, the presence of a frenulum on the hind wing, and 

 the absence of the first apical fork in both wings (a character 

 found also throughout the Diptera Brachycera) were points of 

 the greatest interest. It remained, therefore, to discover the 

 male of this wonderful insect, in order to see whether it pos- 

 sessed the typically enlarged forcipate appendages of the Me- 

 coptera. 



In October last, Mr. G. H. Hardy, of the Tasmanian Museum, 

 Hobart, captured a number of both sexes of a species very closely 

 allied to the Ebor specimen, and sent them to me for determina- 

 tion. As these were found quite close to Hobart, I at once 

 wrote and urged him to obtain more, and to try to observe some 

 of the habits of the insect. Mr. Hardy became fully seized with 

 the importance of his discovery, and spent all his available time 

 in October and November searching for it, in company with 

 another collector, Mr. Clive Cole. I cannot do better than quote 

 his remarks : — 



" The insects were taken near Hobart (off the Strickland 

 Avenue) in a little water-course which flows from the leakage of 

 a portion of the Hobart Waterworks scheme. This overflow 

 keeps the course running throughout the year. It also drains 

 the local land. The specimens were taken partly on the wing, 

 and partly by sweeping. Cole, who relies upon sweeping, has 

 taken only male specimens so far, but I have taken both sexes, 

 both on the wing and by sweeping. One stump of a tree that 

 has thrown out shoots seems to harbour a quantity of the insect, 

 and from this the majority of the insects were taken." 



" They are very active and quick-running, taking to the wing 

 readily. The only hope of taking the specimens by sweeping is 

 to dig the net as far down to the roots of the shrub as possible. 

 The disturbed specimens run up and may be caught on the third 

 3r fourth sweep in the same spot. One specimen, running 



