BOMBYLID.T. 477 



when viewed from in front appears to be of a black or gloomy colour may 

 when seen from behind glitter with brilliant spots. They naturally occur 

 in their greatest numbers in the dry and sunny regions of the world and 

 are abundant in Australia, though no species is known from New Zealand. 

 About 1700 species are known, of which more than 500 have been recorded 

 from the Paloearctic region, but in Britain we possess only a few stragglers 

 as we live in the most northern and western range of the family. Only 

 nine species are now admitted as undoubtedly British, of which three 

 appear to be confined to the commons of the South-west {Bombylius minor, 

 Anthrax fenestratus, and A. circumdatus), while only four are known 

 with certainty from Scotland (B. major, B. canescens, A. paniscus, and 

 P. pulicaria), and only one from Ireland (B. canescens), though Walker 

 included B. major, A. paniscus, and P. pulicaria from Ireland, and 

 B. minor (probaljly in mistake for B. canescens) from Scotland. Although 

 only nine species are now admitted into the British List it is remarkable 

 that about twenty-five others are reputed to have occurred ; this can 

 partly be accounted for by our early collectors having been attracted by 

 the beauty of the various species, and having brought specimens home 

 from travels in Europe too hastily mixed them up in their British 

 collections. 



This family is distinguished by the small number of posterior cells, 

 and by the total absence of the lower (or small) cross-vein, the upper 

 branch of the postical vein always forming for a long (or rarely short) 

 space the lower margin of the discal cell; the Scenopinida; and a few 

 Cyrtidce and Stratiomyidce also possess these characters, but the 

 Bonihylidce cannot be confounded with the hairless Scenopinidce nor with 

 the Stratiomyidce, and the Cyrtidce though rather closely allied can be 

 easily distinguished by their enormous thoracal squamte and by the 

 presence of three pulvilli. 



Aerangement : — The most natural arrangement is apparently 

 arrived at by beginning with those genera which are most allied to the 

 Cyrtida. both by their shape and their deficient venation, and consequently 

 the Bomlylincv, commencing with Glahellula, Platypygus, etc., would be 

 the first subfamily. The Anthracina: being the most distinct subfamily 

 would come last (showing a relationship to the Therevidcc in the circlet 

 of spines on the ovipositor) and would naturally be preceded by the 

 Lomatince, but the position of the Toxopliorince and the exotic Systropince 

 is not so obvious. On the other hand there may be a close relation- 

 ship between some of the Toxophorince and the Cyrtidous subfamily 

 Philopotince, grounded on the remarkable development of the prothorax 

 and the extreme pendulousness of the somewhat cylindrical abdomen. 



The subfamilies accepted in this work are five in number, but the 

 systematic arrangement of the BomhylidcB still awaits a competent mono- 

 grapher, the limits of some of the subfamilies being not well defined, and the 

 allocation of various genera open to doubt. The Anthracince are the 



