172 MUSCID.E. 



and hiiiry. Labella round, obliquely striate. Labrum short. Tongue 

 obsolete. Maxilla? with a small linear and hairy lobe disengaged from 

 the tip. Palpi linear, bristly. Eyes round. Antennce rather distant, 

 short, slightly deflected ; first joint very small ; second as long as the 

 third; tlbird transversely splieroidal, ohlUiuehj compressed ; arista dorsal, 

 long and slender, loitli only tioo joints apparent. Thorax rather depressed. 

 Wings in repose lying flat on the back ; suhcostal vein short ; axillary 

 lobe rather large. Alulce extremely small, the lotver valve disappeariny. 

 Abdomen depressed, oblong ; in the male with six visible segments, 

 the penultimate being withdrawn ; in the female with five segments, 

 the remainder being very small, tubular and internal ; sometimes less 

 than five, from some being indistinct. Leys long, formed for running 

 or leaping ; hind metatarsus dilated, shorter than the second joint. Ony- 

 chia distinct, feathery. 



The larvse feed on decaying substances, and many of the species 

 are excessively abundant. The genera may be grouped thus : — 



(■bare ... 1. Sph.erocera. 

 , with the basal joiut scarcely distinct \ 



(.pubesccut . . 2. Borborus. 



* ' 1 ...,,,, , T^■ 1 i f perpendicular . 3. Limosina. 



I joiuted at the base. Uiscai transverse \ ^ ^ 



L vein of the wing . .... .(oblique. . . 4. IIeteuopteea. 



Genus I. SPH^ROCERA. 



Sph^boceba, Mcq. D. ii. 564. 11 (1835); Hal. Musca p., F. Ca- 

 lobata p., F. Rhayio p., Schr. Borhoriis A b, Meig. Lordatia et 

 Coprina, Desv, Copromyza p., Zett. 



Frons et scutellum setis experta. Arista glabra, quasi exarticidata. 



Vena discalis transversa ab alee maryine remota. Areola analis com- 



pleta. 



Front much produced, flat, without lony bristles. Face very short, 

 concave. Antenna) reposing in deep lateral cavities. Arista bare, the 

 first joint very minute. Thorax with very protuberant callosities, the 

 suture before the wings deep, the sides of the metathorax angular. 

 Discal transverse vein distant by its own lenyth from the border ; pobra- 

 chial vein continued beyond it ; prajbrachial vein approaching the cubi- 

 tal, at the tip of the wing, by a gentle curve ; anal areolet a)id the small 

 one before it complete. Abdomen broad, very flat, margined, the first 

 segment almost concealed. Middle tibiae without lateral bristles, hind 

 pair ending in a curved spur ; hind metatarsus very much dilated. 

 a. Thorax and scutellum with a number of minute points, which are 



disposed ill distant lines on the former, and scattered over the latter. 



Species 1, 2. 



