358 empib.t:. 



shorter; palpi one-joiuted, slightly curving upwards. Thorax 

 rectangular, moderately arclied. There are nornially two strong 

 straight bristles on upper side o£ prothorax ; disc of thorax with 

 weak dorso-central and acrostichal bristles ; margin of dorsum 

 generally with a humeral, post-humeral, one to three notopleural, 

 one supra-alar, and a postalar bristle ; scutellum generally with 

 four bristles ; metapleura bare. Abdomen slender, of 8 segments, 

 cyUndrical in male, with complex and rather uniform genitalia ; 

 broader and more pointed apieally in female. Leys of normal 

 length and form ; fore metatarsus in the male nearly always more 

 or less thickened ; in the female the hind tibiae not infrequently 

 slightly compressed and curved ; occasionally the hind femora in 

 both sexes, or in male only, obviously thickened and suddenly 

 narrowed at apex. Legs moderately pubescent, characteristic 

 bristles often present ; tibiae generally with apical spurs. Wings 

 as in Empis, except that the auxiliary vein distinctly reaches wing- 

 margin ; fork of 3rd A'ein perhaps less widely open ; anal vein 

 weaker, generally failing to attain wing-margin ; axillary lobe 

 well developed. 



Range. AVorld-wide. 



Life-histor>/. Beling has described the early stages of several 

 European species. They appear to resemble the ordinary 

 Dipterous larvie and pupae, the former being amphipneustic, of 

 twelve segments, including the head ; living in damp earth or 

 amongst decaying leaves. The larva hibernates as in Empis and 

 Rhampliomi/ia. The perfect insects are generally distributed, 

 more commonly occurring in woods and fields and near water. 

 They prey on small Diptera or other soft insects, and have often 

 been captured in copula still carrying their prey, which is enveloped 

 in a little web, said to be spun from the mouth of the male. 



Only four Indian species are described. Walker's hares is 

 unknown to me and may possibly be identical with my compada. 



Table of Species. 



Thorax blackish or c^reyish. 



Body hrowu bares, Walk., p. 359. 



Body blackish ; fore metatarsi relatively 



smaller conipncta, Brun., p. 358. 



Body blackisli grey ; fore metatarsi re- 

 latively larger jjeshaicarensis, sp. ii., p. CGO. 



Thorax bright light yellowish brown .... nijithorax, Brun., p. 359. 



294. Hilara compacta, Br%in. 



Hilara compacta, Brunetti, Bee. Ind. Mus. ix, p. 30 ("1913). 



S . Head blackisli ; frons rather narrow ; antennae with greyish 

 reflections viewed from certain angles. Proboscis about ns long 

 as height of head, shining black above; labium, which is shining 

 yellowish, much longer than the hypopharynx and sharply 

 pointed ; palpi large, nearly as long as proboscis, brownish, 



