﻿ANNALS 



OF THE 



SOUTH AFRICAN MUSEUM. 



(Vol. XVIII.) ^ f * ^ 



I.— On the Bombi/liid Fauna of South Africa {Biptera) as represented 

 in the Sonth African Mnseum.— By Prof. M. Bezzi. 



(With Plates I and II.) 



Since the publication of H. Loew's general treatment of the family 

 Bombyliidae in his classical Avork of 1860 on the South African 

 Dipterous Fauna,* no other paper has appeared dealing especially 

 with this group of flies, which seems, however, to be plentifully 

 represented in that country. 



In the old publications of Linnaeus, Fabricius, Thunberg and 

 Olivier, as also in the earliest papers of Wiedemann on the insects of 

 the Cape (1818-1819), and even in the general works of Wiedemann, 

 Macquart and Walker, there are numerous species described, most of 

 which had not been recorded subsequently. In addition, after 1860 

 many other new forms have been added by Adams, Bigot, Hermann, 

 Karsch, Loew, Eicardo, Eomani, Schiner, Walker, Westwood, etc. 

 But all these descriptions are scattered, often hardly accessible, and 

 by no means arranged systematically ; therefore a general survey of 

 the subject seems to be not devoid of importance. 



It was then with the greatest pleasure that I received through the 

 kindness of Dr. L. Peringuey the very rich collection of South African 

 Bombyliidae in the South African Museum. At the same time I had 

 already before me extensive collections of Ethiopian Bombyliidae from 



* " Die Dipteren-Fauna Siidafrikas," ' Abhand. Natvirw. Ver. fiir Sachs und 

 Thuring in Halle,' Berlin, 1860. 

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