FLIES. 227 



ing yellow body, with the basal half of the abdomen black, and. 

 reddish legs ; the long and rather narrow wings are deeply tinged 

 with yellowish brown. The North American Trupanea Apivora, 

 Fitch, feeds on honey-bees, of which it destroys great numbers; 

 and it is known to American bee-keepers as the Bee-Killer. 



Family XXI. — Midaidce. 



Head broad and short, distinctly separated from the thorax; 

 antennjB four- or five- jointed, with no terminal bristle, but more or 

 less clubbed at the tip ; ocelli indistinct ; legs stout and strong, 

 hind femora thickened and spiny below ; larvae parasitic ; perfect 

 insects })redatory. 



The Midaidce are large insects, resembling the Asilidce in their 

 habits, and are nearly all tropical ; a few species, however, inhabit 

 Spain, Portugal, and Sicily. Midas Lusiianicus, Meig., which in- 

 habits Spain and Portugal, is black, with white hairs on the face, 

 and on the sides of the thorax ; the second segment of the 

 abdomen is orange, and the hinder segments are bordered behind 

 with yellowish white ; the wings are also yellowish. It measures 

 two-thirds of an inch in length. Among the foreign species we 

 may mention M. Clavatus, Drury, from North America, which is 

 also black, with the second segment of the abdomen deep yellow 

 above, and coppery-brown wings. This species is an inch and a 

 quarter long ; but the Brazilian M. Gigantcus, Wied., far surpasses 

 it, both in size and beauty, and often measures more than an inch 

 and a half in length. It is black, with a whitish tuft on the face, 

 and the abdomen, except the first segment, is blue, with green 

 shades ; the wings are black. 



Family XXII. — Nemestrinidce. 



Head not broader than the thorax ; ocelli present ; antennae 

 distant at the base, not annulated, with a terminal spine ; legs 

 moderately long. 



The species of this small family chiefly inhabit the warmer 

 parts of the world. They are generally of a black colour, some- 

 times with red legs, or with paler hairs on the sides or at the base 

 of the abdomen. They measure about half an inch in length. 

 They suck the nectar of flowers through a long proboscis, but 

 nothing is yet known of their metamorphoses. 



