DIPTERA. 105 



walks. Rooks and starlings destroy great numbers of 

 these injurious larvae ; the little burrowing mole also 

 may fairly lay claim to be the farmers' friend in this 

 respect — for I have found in the stomachs of the 

 gibbeted moles the remains of these Tipuke and other 

 kindred larvie. 



Mr. F. Walker divides the Brachycera into seventeen 

 families, as follows : — 



In the Acroceridce, a family which contains a very 

 few species, the bodies of the insects are broad and 

 globose, the head very small and almost w^holly occupied 

 by the eyes; they are sluggish in their habits, and often 

 group themselves on withered trunks of trees, flying 

 about in the sunshine. 



