70 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. [Vol. XXV. 



with the sun warm and invigorating without being hot, when I was 

 collecting insects on the white-clay country at Emerald, that, 

 whilst standing by a large bush of Daviesia corymbosa, watching 

 the number of species of bees that were attracted to the blossoms, 

 I heard a sudden loud buzzing, louder than that caused by the 

 continuous murmur of the bees, and saw that a specimen of 

 Bittacus australis had just seized a large Honey-bee which was 

 making frantic but ineffectual struggles to escape from its clutches. 

 It had grasped its victim with both hind legs and was holding it 

 as far as possible from its body, with the flexible tarsi wrapped 

 around the unfortunate bee and working continually, just like the 

 fingers of a hand, to prevent it from turning towards its enemy. 

 In such a position, with its back to the fly, the poor insect was 

 unable to make use of its sting, and all efforts to twist around 

 were anticipated and prevented by the movements of the 

 numerous sharp spines of the encircling tarsi. Some muscular 

 effort is doubtless required to enable the fly to keep its hind legs 

 in an extended and rigid position in spite of the struggles of a 

 large winged insect, which may account for these being larger and 

 stouter than the others, with the femora being somewhat incras- 

 sated and the tavsi being larger and more powerful. So intent was 

 it upon securing its prey that I was allowed to examine its every 

 movement minutely, and, whilst wondering what would happen 

 next, it suddenly put out its two mid-legs and caught the tips of 

 each primary wing of the bee between the two last joints of the 

 tarsus, in much the same manner as we should take hold of any- 

 thing between a finger and thumb, and pulled them out to their 

 fullest expanse, thus effectually preventing the last remote chance 

 of escape by these organs of flight. The scorpion-fly was now 

 hanging from the bush by its two arms, and holding its prey with 

 extended wings and body still grasped by the hind tarsi. And 

 now came the closing scene of this insect tragedy ; the hind legs 

 slowly contracted to bring the body of the victim nearer, and the 

 cruel, beak-like mouth approached, and, after hovering close to it 

 for a few seconds, was inserted between the head and prothorax 

 of the bee, which was unable to make the slightest resistance 

 whilst its captor was piercing and biting through the slender, 

 fleshy neck. 



As the structure of the mouth-parts seems to be particularly 

 interesting, I will endeavour to give a full description of this 

 portion of the insect's anatomy. The beak constituting the mouth 

 is about three times the length of the head, the point being 

 formed by the labrum and labium, which are hollowed longitu- 

 dinally internally, and have their edges fringed with stiff hairs, 

 which, when pressed together, unite and form a complete and 

 slender tube. The maxillary palpi are moderately long, four- 

 jointed, and placed about half-way down the beak ; the maxillae 



