NOTES ON DIPTERA. 287 



(pars X., September, 1874), no systenicatic atterapts have, I 

 believe, been made to arrange the different species of parasite, 

 together with those of their victims ; and at present the amount 

 of information on the subject is too small to enable me to place 

 them in any order. A good many facts have been recorded by 

 E. Desvoidy, Macquart, Zetterstedt, Schiner, Eondani, and 

 others ; and I v^'ill endeavour to add my mite to the stock of 

 information on the subject by recording those facts that have 

 fallen under my own observation. 



The parasitic Diptera do not all belong to the Tacliinidce, 

 though this may be named the family of parasites " par excel- 

 lence." Some of the little flies belonging to the genus Phora 

 have been bred from the pupas of other insects, but not much is 

 known about them. Two instances of this kind have fallen 

 under my own observation, viz., in December, 1880, I received a 

 specimen of Phora minor! Zett., from Mr. Fitch, which he had 

 bred from the larva of a sawfly {Ncmatns salicis) ; and a few days 

 since Mr. C. Waterhouse sent me one of Phora rufipcs, Meig., 

 bred from Xematns rihesii. 



Some of the Sarcophagce, or flesh flies, have been bred from 

 the larvae of other insects. I was much interested by receiving 

 several specimens of Sarcophaga lineata, Fallen, in September 

 last, from Sir Sidney Smith Saunders, which had been bred from 

 the locusts {G^. cruciata) in the Troad, and to which they were said 

 to have been very destructive. A closely allied species {S.affinis, 

 Fall.) has been reared from two or three species of Tinea. The larvae 

 of the flesh flies mostly live upon dead animal substances ; and 

 Schiner* thinks it doubtful whether they are ever true parasites, 

 but only feed upon the larvae or pupae of insects which have died 

 from other causes. Should this surmise be correct, will it not 

 apply also to the larvae of the Phone, which have been found in 

 other larvae ?, for these little flies are mostly reared from decaying 

 vegetable and animal (?) matters. In the United States Professor 

 Eiley found the larvae of Anthoniyia angustifrons, Meig., very 

 destructive to the locust eggs, while Tachina anonynui, Eiley, 

 and Sarcophaga sarracenice, Eiley, were parasitic on the locusts 

 themselves. 



Lastly, with respect to anomalous parasites, I may mention 

 that Mr. Bridgmun lately sent me three female specimens of the 



* ' Fauna Austriaca ' (DijJtera), vol. i. p. 5Ua. 



