382 Osten Sachen: Hvo eritical remarks 



rhai)hjii), imtl at the sarnc tinie called attention (I.e. foot-note) to 

 the fact that in his Oestridae (1808) lie had pointed ont the „Stirn- 

 blase" as another such character („Die Stirnblase wurde von mir 

 jedoch gleich zuerst als Merkmal festgestellt" Oestridae 1863). 



The existence of the ptilinum and of the frontal suture was 

 known long ago to anybody who had bred flies froni their barrol- 

 shaped puparia. But it is to Robin eau (as far as I know) tlint 

 bolongs the honor of having for the first tinie, described this cha- 

 racter in detail, provided it with the necessary terminology. and 

 introduced it as a character of one of the large divisions of Diptera. 

 The selfcomplacent remark of Brauer about Robineau „that he 

 was Ignorant of the morphological characters of the Muscariae" 

 is therefore entirely misplaced, and the more remarkable as it comes 

 from the author of a pretended monograph of these very Muscariae! 

 Robineau, in this connection, is in advance of Brauer in 

 another point. He recognizes at once the ptilinum as a character 

 bolonging to the Muscidae only, and not to the Syrphidae. 

 Brauer, in the above-quoted i)assagc, with his characteristic haste, 

 adopts the „Stirnblase" as a character separating the two subordcrs. 

 It was, three years later, an afterthought of his, based upon the 

 Observation of Becher on the Syrphidae (that they have no pti- 

 linum), to adopt the new division proposed by Becher (Z. K. M. 

 111, p. 11, 1883): 



Aschiza Becher, with the Syrphidae, Pipunculidac, Pla- 

 typezidae, Phoridae(!). 



Schizophora Becher, with Schizometopa (Calyptratra olim), 



Holometopa (Acalyptrata and Conopidae olim). 



The advantage therefore is all on the side of Robineau who, 



from the first, hit on the division which is acceptable even now, 



while Brauer is seen changing all the time the subdivisions and 



their names, and tinally settling upon the (|ueer combination oiPhora'^) 



i) I reproduce the wholc passage of Brauer; die „einseitige Ein- 

 wendung" he is alluding to is the objection made at that time by 

 Gerstaecker in regard to the pupa of Cecidomyia destructor: „Heute 

 bringe ich eine neue Thatsache, die hinreichend ist, keine solche einseitige 

 Einwendung entstehen zu lassen. Die beiden Gruppen der Dipt. Cy- 

 clorrhapha und Ort horrhapha sind nicht nur aus den Larven durch 

 die Art ihrer Häutungen etc., sondern durcli den Körperbau der voll- 

 i<ommenen Insecten sofort zu unterscheiden." 



•-') The fluctuating opinions of Prof. Brauer are conspicuously 

 exemplitied in the genus Phora. In 1883 he eonnects it through the 

 Platypezidae and Pipunculidae with the Syrphid ae; but in 1880 

 (Z. K. M, 1, p. 14/119) he had said: „Die Gruppe Hypocera Scliiner 



