1 6 2 AN A ceo UNT OF BRITISH FLIES. 



appeared amongst the hop-cones at Rainham, in Kent, in 1882. It 

 has been observed in enormous numbers off the Norfolk coast. In 

 1862 it was recorded as hanging in millions on flowers and in 

 bunches on grasses" (Ormerod, Man. Inj. Insects, p. 129). In 

 April, 1884, Miss Ormerod had the larvee sent her from Sitting- 

 bourne, where they were attacking the hops and doing considerable 

 damage by eating away the roots ; and a few days later she continues 

 to tell us it was reported from Sharsted that " These grubs appear 

 to be doing much damage to the hop plants by gnawing away the 

 original plant, and considerable quantities of them may be found 

 even at one stem." They also appear to do damage to the roots 

 of grass and corn and garden plants. Curtis also notices that 

 the maggots are found in cow and horse manure. I have myself 

 bred many from the latter, and think it most probably their true 

 home. If so, they are readily spread, in manure, to the fields and 

 gardens, as so many other insect pests are. 



The first brood appears in May and June, the second in the 

 autumn. The larvce are white, cylindrical, legless grubs, with brown 

 head and numerous hairs, about a quarter of an inch in length. The 

 pupse are pale brown ; whitish, according to Miss Ormerod. 



D. albipcnnis^ Mg. = Hirtea albipennis, Zett. 

 This is also a black insect, but the tibiae and tarsi are testaceous 

 (Meigen, Sys. Beschr., vi., 315, 6, g 830. 



D. hunieraiis, Zett. 

 This is another British species. Black ; the sides yellow and the 

 wings having a brownish-yellow tinge. Legs reddish. Length 2^ to 

 2^ lin. (Zetterstedt, Dip. Scan, ix., 3393, 3, 1850). 



„ _.. . ^ ^^ [Hirtea, Zett., F. 



Genus. — Bibw., Geoff. •= - ' ' 



\Tipula, L., Deg., Schrk. 



The body stout, elongated, fairly large. Head elongated in ? , 

 broad in $ . The mouth parts are as follows : Labrum short, 

 triangular, hairy at apex ; lingua long and lanceolate, hairy at apex ; 

 labium very hairy, bilobed. Eyes hairy, large and contiguous in the 

 (;J, remote in the ?. Ocelli three. Palpi 4-jointed; first joint 

 small ; second linear, longer than third ; fourth small ; fifth longer. 

 Antennas 7 to 9Jointed, submoniliform, and short ; first and second 

 joints hairy ; ninth round ; the rest are transverse and minutely pub- 

 escent. PI. iii. fig. 6 c. Thorax elongate, oval. Abdomen with nine 

 segments, hairy, blunt apex in the c?, pointed in ? . Legs stout, moder- 

 ately long ; anterior femora and tibia short, the latter having a large 

 apical spine and a small thick spur ; posterior tibia; with two apical 



