88 Orthorrhapha brachycera. 



brownish black, the eighth ventral segment with a very small, styli- 

 form process. 



Length 6 — 8 mm. 



E. hilineata is common in Denmark; Ordrup Mose, Birkerød, 

 Hillerød, Tyvekrogen; on Langeland at Lohals and in Jutland at 

 Ristrup near Aarhus. My dates are ^'^/o — ^^/t; it is thus chiefly a 

 spring species. It occurs in fens and in the outskirts of woods, often 

 on Umbelliferæ, and in early spring on the flowers of Salix, and it 

 may be present in great numbers. I once put a specimen living in 

 a bottle together with a Rhingia campestris, and a few moments after 

 the Empis had killed the Rhingia by pushing its beak in to the body of the 

 Rhingia between head and thorax. Rhingia seems for the rest to be 

 an ordinary prey for this species; Muller observed (Kosmos, V, 1881, 

 416; Entom. Nachricht. VIII, 1882, 116 and Mik, Wien. ent. Zeitg. I, 

 1882, 203) six females {E. punctata), each taking a Rhingia as prey; 

 the Empis first pierced the Rhingia in the pleura, probably paralysing 

 it, then placing itself on the back of the prey it plunged the pro- 

 boscis through the soft parts between head and thorax. Miiller also 

 observed females sucking the juices of flowers, like the males. The 

 author suggests, that the females of this and other species may suck 

 both blood and vegetable juices, which is certainly correct, but when 

 he thinks they may have differently constructed mouth parts, this is 

 certainly not so. 



Geographical distribution : — Northern and middle Europe down 

 into Austria; towards the north to southern Sweden. 



Remarks: I have here kept the name hilineata Loew, used in 

 the Kat. palåarkt. Dipt; according to Bezzi 1. c. the species is identical 

 with digramma Meig. ; if this is byond doubt the latter name has 

 priority. 



2. E. punctata Meig. 



1804. Meig. Klass. eur. zweifl. Ins. I, 227, 22. — 1867. Loew, Berl. 

 ent. Zeitschr. XI, 15 et 20, 6. — 1903. Kat. palåarkt. Dipt. II, 243. — 

 Empis ignota: 1830. Meig. Syst. Beschr. VI, 338. — 1842. Zett. Dipt. 

 Scand. 1, 380, 13 et 1849, VIII, 3025, 13. — 1862. Schin. F. A. I, 104. 



Male. Eyes broadly separated, frons grey with an impressed 

 middle-line; epistoma greyish yellow, jovvls yellowish. Occiput grey 

 above, with longish, black bristles, yellow below. Labrum ferruginous; 

 palpi yellow. Antennæ long, longer than the head, black, the two 

 basal joints with short, black hairs, the third much elongated. Thorax 

 duU grey, with three somewhat broad, dark brown stripes, the lateral 

 abbreviated in front the middle behind. The dorsocentral bristles 



