Empididae. 287 



bristles on the postero-ventral side of the middle femora, but instead 

 the spines in the row here are longer and more bristle-like. In rare 

 cases the last joints on the front tarsi are dilated. — There are tvvo 

 claws, two pulvilli, and a small, linear empodium with strong bristles 

 below. Wings with the mediastinal vein not reaching the margin; 

 the cubital vein unforked, thus one cubital cell; the discai vein like- 

 wise unforked, thus three posterior cells; no discai cell; the lower 

 branch of the postical vein more or less recurrent; the anal vein 

 more or less weak especially at the base, but present and thus an 

 anal cell present; the basal cells long and of about equal length, the 

 anal cell short, not half as long as the basal cells. No stigma. The 

 axillary lobe somewhat developed, the angle obtuse. Alula not de- 

 veloped, the margin here fringed. Alar squamula small, fringed at 

 the margin. 



The larval stage of T.{Platy palpus) major is described by Beling 

 (Verh. zool. bot. Geseli. Wien, XXXVIII, 1888, 2). The larva is cylindrical, 

 spindle-shaped, 6 mm. long, 1,5 mm. in diameter; it consists of twelve 

 segments; the colour is yellowish white. The abdominal segments 

 have small, transverse swellings (Kriechschwielen) on the ventral side. 

 There are terminal spiracles on the last segment, and below them a 

 short, truncate, tooth-like process. Beling does not mention the pro- 

 thoracic spiracles. The larva was found on the ground under moss 

 in a wood. According to Brauer (Denkschr. der kais. Akad. der 

 Wissenshr. math. nat. Cl. XLVII, 1883, 64) Boie has also mentioned 

 the development of a species of the genus, {Platypalpus) (Scholtz, 

 Zeitschr. flir Entom. Breslau, 1849). 



The species of this genus are very characteristic in their whole 

 appearance and especially in the development of the legs. They are 

 found on tields, commons and meadows in the grass and low her- 

 bage, and in or at woods on bushes; they run swiftly on the leaves 

 of bushes and lower piants, but they also fly rather well. With regard 

 to their occurrence there is a somewhat marked difference between 

 the species; the pruinose species are especially found outside woods 

 on sunny fieids and meadows, while the black shining, and the yellow 

 species are most often found in woods on open, somewhat shaded 

 and generally more or less humid piaces. The species are strong rob- 

 bers ; I have taken T. fulvipes with Aphidius sp., Chironomus sp. and 

 a small Ghloropid, and T. pallidiventris with Vrophora solstitialis L. 

 as prey, and I have seen a Tachydromia with Microchrysa polita L. 

 as prey; in the two last cases the prey was thus much larger than 

 the Tachydromia; further I have in my collection several species 

 which still have remnants of insects between the closed middle 



