224 DIPTEEA. 



resting on leaves in damp shady places ; but they may also be 

 seen on windows, or dancing in the air. 



DiPTKUA BrACHYCERA. 



Antennae short; usually three-jointed (the last joint some- 

 times subdivided), generally with a terminal bristle (or seta) ; 

 palpi with only one or two joints. 



Fabiily XIV. — Xylophagidce. 



Head short, as broad as the thorax ; antennse with the third 

 joint angulated ; terminal bristle wanting ; eyes naked, more or 

 less widely separated ; ocelli present ; legs slender, naked ; tibiae 

 with terminal spines ; scutellum unarmed. 



The Xylophagidce are rather slender flies, from a quarter to half 

 an inch in length. They are generally black, with the legs, 

 scutellum, tip of the abdomen, and sometimes other marks on the 

 latter, more or less yellow or reddish. The larvse live in rotten 

 ■wood, and the flies are often to be seen resting on the trunks of 

 trees. 



Family XV. — Ccenomyiida'. 



Head narrower than the thorax ; eyes of the male contiguous 

 in front ; scutellum with two spines ; other characters nearly as in 

 the Xylophagidce. 



The typical European species of this family, Cof.nomyia Ferru- 

 ginea, Scop., is a large stout fly, three-quarters of an inch in length, 

 varying from rusty yellow to black, with pale markings on the 

 scutellum and abdomen. The larva feeds in rotten poplars ; and 

 the fly, which is not uncommon in South Europe, especially in 

 sub- Alpine districts, is generally met with in the neighbourhood of 

 water. 



Family XVI. — Stnitioviyiidm. 



Head short, as broad as the thorax ; antennse Avith the third 

 joint annulated, and usually furnished with a terminal bristle ; 

 ocelli present ; thorax and scutellum spined or spineless ; legs 

 moderately long, slender, witli neither bristles nor spines. 



These are small or moderate-sized flies, and the larvae live 

 in rotten vegetable substances, or in the water, and assume the 

 pupa state within the larval skin. The species of Sargus, Fabr., 

 are of a bright metallic blue, green, or violet. They are rather 



