52 Tachinidae. 



sternopleurals these are placed as 1 — 2. Also the presence of the apical 

 cross-vein is characteristic; in the rare cases where it is obliterated, 

 the discai vein does not reach the margin; to be sure some Antho- 

 myids have a similar vein, but then they are known by no hypo- 

 pleural bristles; also these Anthomyids have never a prolongation 

 of the vein from the discai angle, which is often the case in the Tachi- 

 nids. The thoracic squamula is always larger, generally much larger 

 than the alar squamula. Finally the Tachinids nearly always have 

 much more bristles, especially on abdomen, than any Anthomyid. 



The Tachinids form a large family, including at present very 

 numerous genera and divided in several subfamilies. They are flies 

 of from small or smallish to rather large size (about 2,5 to 20 mm). 

 They may be of rather varied aspect, from short, broad and almost 

 globular to rather elongated and narrow, but most of them are of the 

 common Muscid shape. In the free these latter are generally known 

 from other Muscids by a certain robust appearance, as also by the 

 numerous bristles and often long antennæ; the Dexiins are generally 

 known by the elongated shape. The various members of the family 

 are found from early spring to late autumn; they occur on leaves of 

 bushes, in low herbage and on various flowers, especially umbellifers, 

 some few as Bucentes dLho on composites, and they suck juices; some 

 may also be seen sitting on stems of trees. The Calliphorins and 

 Sarcophagins frequent also decaying animal and vegetable matter 

 and excrements. Some are especially present on sandy localities as 

 the Miltogrammins, where they seek the nests of burrowing bees 

 and fossorial wasps for depositing the eggs. 



The story of the systematic of the Tachinidae is well known 

 and mentioned f. inst. by Stein in his last work. After the period 

 stopping with Rondani and Schiner, Brauer and Bergenstamm 

 published in 1889 — 93 (Denkschr. Akad. d. Wissensch. Wien) an 

 elaborate and somewhat revolutionizing work, but, in spite of all 

 it brings, it is difficult to use, and the division into "sections" and 

 genera is carried out to an extreme; many of the genera were also 

 provisional, and the authors reduced themselves the number in the 

 last part of the work. In 1893 and 1896 Girschner (Berlin. Ent. 

 Zeitschr. XXXVI, 1893, 297 and 111. Wochenschr. f. Entom. I, 1896, 

 12) sketched a new system and divided the Tachinidae into nine 

 groups, including Eginia (Syllegoptera) as one group, but excluding 

 Gastrophilus as belonging to the Anthomyidae. Girschner's system 

 was only a sketch, but many new and important characters were 



