70 APPLE LEAVES, APHIS ATTENDANTS TWO-BANDED STEM-EYE. 



reaches nearly or quite across the wing, the same that it does ire 

 brevicornis, whilst the apex of the wing is hyaline, without any 

 vestiges of the dusky spot which occurs at the tip of the wing in Mr. 

 Say's species. This species, which I name the Two-banded Stem- 

 eye (Sphyraccphala sub-bifasciata), was swept from grass at the 

 baseoi the bluffs of the Illinois river, north of the city of Ottawa, 

 the middle of last October. The Short-horned Stem-eye I first 

 captured in Saratoga county, upon a cold windy day the latter 

 part of May, between the leaves of the Skunk's-cabbage ( Symplo- 

 carpus fatidus), where it had, probably, retired for shelter — this 

 being the same situation in which it was originally discovered by 

 Mr. Say. Near my present residence, upon sunny days in the 

 middle of April several were found associated with other flies and 

 small bees, drinking the sweet sap of a newly cut maple, beside 

 a stream of water at the base of a hill. It was more tame and 

 less inclined to take wing when approached than any of the other 

 flies. It seems limited to low shady situations, for other stumps 

 upon the side and summit of the same hill, equally frequented by 

 other flies, had none of this species. Near the same spot I once 

 captured a specimen the last of October, resting upon a sand bank 

 and basking in the sun. I state these facts thus particularly as 

 so little is known respecting the habits of this tribe of insects. 



The Two-banded Stem-eye measures 0.15 to the tip of its abdomen. It is 

 black and polished, the thorax brownish, the head and anteniue tawny yellow, 

 and above on the middle of the head is a black spot. The legs also are tawny 

 yellow, and the anterior thighs have a brown cloud-like spot upon each side, 

 the anterior shanks being black. The middle legs have a brown band above, 

 and another below the knee. The hind thighs and shanks each have a brown 

 band at tip. The wings are hyaline, with two dusky bands, the inner one 

 short, as already described. 



Prominent among these insects which subsist upon and destroy 

 plant-lice are the Aphis-lions as they have been termed. These 

 are larvae of the Golden-eyed and Lace-winged flies, insects which 

 form the Family Hemerobiid^: in the Order Neuroptera. In 

 their perfect state they are delicate slender-bodied insects, most of 

 them less than half an inch long, with four large wings beautifully 

 reticulated with veins, resembling the finest gauze or lace work, 

 whence they have received the name of Lace-wings, and with 

 prominent globular eyes, which in many of the species have a 



