Meigen having engaged to describe the European Diptera, 

 and having already published three volumes of his excellent 

 work, I have always been desirous rather to follow than to 

 anticipate that celebrated entomologist in his arduous under- 

 taking; I should not therefore have published this genus at 

 present, had I not considered it an example of Latreille's genus 

 Scatophaga, and had proceeded too far under that impression 

 to stop its publication, when Mr. Samouelle pointed out to me 

 a specimen sent to Meigen by Dr. Leach, which was returned 

 to the British Museum with the names I have adopted. The 

 specimen sent was the contrary sex to mine, and is exceedingly 

 injured, as many of the insects in the Museum are, by the bot- 

 toms of the drawers having been unfortunately made of cedar, 

 from which a resinous substance is constantly distilling, some- 

 times making its appearance inside, at others outside the 

 drawers : this inconvenience I am happy to learn will soon be 

 remedied, and I should not here have made this digression did 

 I not hope it might guard others from the like misfortune. 

 But to return : of the identity of the genus, which I believe is 

 unpublished, there is no question ; and there appear to be 

 good reasons for dividing it from Scatophaga; for besides 

 differences in the trophi and antennae, the tibiae being only 

 woolly without any bristles, and the basal joint of the posterior 

 tarsus, which is not longer than the 2nd, rather compressed, 

 and a little bent, at once distinguish it from that genus. Of 

 the species I cannot be so certain, the resm having destroyed 

 the colour, and altered the appearance ; but from a memoran- 

 dum in Dr. Leach's hand- writing, stating that the specimens 

 were taken at Swansea and Yarmouth, it is evident H. ustulata 

 is a sea-coast insect ; and my friend J. C. Dale, Esq. took his 

 specimens at Christ Church, Hants : and about the end of 

 August 1821, during some tremendous gales, I found several 

 upon the extensive and exposed sand-hills stretching along the 

 coast to the south of Calais. There appear to be three other 

 species of Helcomyza inhabiting Britain, one only of which was 

 named by Meigen at the same time as the species under consi- 

 deration. 



Glaucium lutenm (Yellow-horned Poppy), which was in 

 flower at the time, is figured with the insect. 



