F. R. COLE 13 



eggs. A specimen of E. trisiis was found in the clutches of a yel- 

 low crab spider, which had been lying in ambush on one of the 

 flowers frequently visited by this fly. This is of interest in view 

 of the behavior of spiders when confronted with specimens of 

 Opsehius diligens. If this spider was a host of the fly it was not 

 aware of the fact. It is possible that other spiders might not act 

 the same, and it is also possible that the flies of this genus are not 

 parasitic on spiders. 



In England, Standish speaks of having beaten a species of 

 Og codes from old white-thorn Ijushes. They were sluggish in the 

 net and laid with their wings closed. The slightest pressure 

 destroyed the rotundity of their bodies. Mr. J. L. King, in Ohio, 

 observed Pterodontia flavipes hovering around the trunks of trees 

 and ovipositing; they were very sluggish and easily captured. 



Early Stages and Life History 



Gerstaecker fiist observed one of the larvae of the Cyrtidae 

 in 1856 and reported it. Stein, according to Gerstaecker, had 

 found them several years Ijefore, and had discovered Ogcodes 

 fuliginosa ovipositing on Equisetum limosum. There were spots 

 and round holes on the branches of this plant which Gerstaecker 

 believed to be the dwelling places of the larvae. On the pin with 

 a specimen of Ogcodes zonatus he found a great mass of black 

 eggs, long egg-shaped, somewhat flattened and about one-sixth 

 of a millimeter long. The plants in a certain meadow were cov- 

 ered with these eggs. 



Menge (105) was the first to record the Cyrtidae as parasitic 

 in the bodies of spiders. Ogcodes pallipes (Henops margmatus) 

 Erichson, was bred from Cluhonia putris Koch, the spider being 

 found with a large hole on the under side of the abdomen. Brauer, 

 in 1869 (18), published a paper, "Beitrag zur Biologic der Acro- 

 ceriden," in which he described and figured the larva and pupa of 

 Astomella lindenii, found in the burrow of a spider {Cienziana 

 ariana). Brauer stated that Gerstaecker had found a pupa of 

 Ogcodes fumatus Erichson in a web near a dead spider. Brauer 

 gives good figures and descriptions of the early stages of Asto- 

 mella lindenii, which came from one of a number of nests of the 

 spider Ctenzia ariana Koch collected in Corfu: In 1883, Brauer 

 made further discoveries, finding that the larvae, while lodged 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC, XLV. 



