.lOPHNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY AND ZOOLOGY 
143 
The following notes on the copulation, resting positions, egg-laying 
in nature and captivity, and other details may be quoted from field 
obser\'ations. 
May 14, 1911 — This usually rare insect was common on a grassy 
plot of land along Cascadilla Creek. The flies sit on the blades of 
grass, the long antenna? of the male directed straight ahead. The 
males are very poor fliers and prefer to drop to the ground when 
disturbed and clumsily work their way oft' along the ground. When 
approached from the side they are much more easily alarmed and 
Hy away. When approached from above, they do not move until 
the stick, finger, or whatnot, is within a couple of inches, when they 
remove the fore feet from the support and, on nearer approach, 
fall to the ground. When in copulation, the female tries to dis- 
engage by rapidlv vibrating the wings in attempted flight, repeating 
this often, from every 1 to 5 seconds until disengaged or exhausted. 
The male can disconnect himself at will. In copulation the female 
is always uppermost unless exhausted, when both sexes lie flat on a 
grass-blade. The female has the head up, the male the head down- 
ward; copulation always takes places on a vertical support, usually 
a blade of grass, sometimes a plant stem. The sexes remain in copu- 
lation for quite a long time and are perfectly motionless. All of the 
legs of both sexes are on the support unless in a position where this 
is physically impossible, in which case as many as possible are used; 
the hind legs of both sexes are held at right angles to the support, 
the forelegs in front. After copulation the female generally drops 
to the ground, the male, after a few moments' rest, flies away. Speci- 
mens in copulation were found in abundance from 2 to 4 :30 p.m. when 
no more could be discovered. From 4:30 to 7 p. m. solitary males 
were common, but no females could be found on the grass-blades. 
At 4:30 p. m., a few females were found clinging to the trunks of 
the willow trees about two feet from the ground. At 5 :30 p. m., 
females were noted in small groups over the water, evidently en- 
gaged in oviposition, as they frequently dipped down to the surface. 
These latter were in company with a large swarm of dancing Empi- 
did flies (Rhamphomyia). Of the great numbers that were picked 
from grasses in the afternoon a considerable proportion were fe- 
