A Monogfapli of Egyplimi Dtplera. 



ovoii ou tlie earth in lli;> siiiili^lit, A Irw ot llieiii nw m jniioiis 

 in tlic larval stage suc li as Kiiuirni^ and Si/rifti/, but on \\\v othcr 

 hand niany are very licMii-Ilcial, hriiig aiiliiiiiphagous {Si/r/)/nis, 

 Paragus, S phaerophorhi , iXv.) ; sniii;- livc in li(|ui(l lillli and deeay- 

 ing- veg-etahlc matter (/•;r/.v/'///.s) and otlicis livc in 1li;- stcuis of 

 plants aud in fungi. 'l'Iic laivar of sunio s|>cci;'s iidiahil tlicncsts 

 of thc largo Ihjiin'uo iilvra sucli as Vcsi-a and llnmlms and flicy 

 j)i';)l)al(l}- act ratlici' as sf'avengers liian as parasites, wiiilc otli(M-s 

 havc l)ct.Mi fouud in ants" nrsis. I d;; nul a^nr witli W'i'i'aH's sup- 

 position that "Ein/wn/s in sDinr \va\- livrs in llio hui'idws nï siiiaM 

 aculeatc llynienoptci'a," as Ixjth A', annx'ims and A', vislilus, Ww, 

 commonest Eg-yi^tian species, hâve heen \)vvi\ froin varions plants 

 such as onions, potatoes, water-niclons, etc. It is prohaiih' Ihat 

 VerraU's supposition is derived froin llie curions liahits of llic 

 adults which mimic Hymenoi^tera in tlicir fliglit and in tlic case 

 of one or two species can ouly be caught ou tlio ground or auiong 

 low lyiug plants wberc nests of IJynicnoptcra uiay bc in close 

 proximity. It is probable however that Evmerns fourni in siu'h 

 localities are aboiit to oviposit aud ai-e nierely seeking a way tn 

 the roots of the plants which thcir larvae inhabit. It is not 

 unlikely, therefore, that occasionally thèse insects may enter the 

 burrows of Hynienoptera or any other holes in the ground. 



The métamorphoses of most gênera liave been more or less stud- 

 ied. The larvae are rather varions in appearance, and as remark- 

 ed above, their biology is at the same time very différent, in spite 

 of this they hâve, however, some features in common. Lundbeck 

 says that "the dermis is alwavs tough or more or less leathery, 

 "and it is shagrecned from small spinules or hairs which are often 

 '"divided into two to four corrugations. There are in ail twelve 

 "segments, the head included. Above the month opening are two 

 "antennae-like organs; they are, or may be described as, two-jointed, 

 "the last joint bearing two papilla^ alongside ; thèse two papilla^ 

 "are not similar, one bas at the end a small refractive bodv, while 

 "the other, the one nearest the moutli, is tiaincate and geucrally a 

 "little crenulated at the apical margin. Tli -c nigans, which are 

 "présent and nearly uniform in ail t \ t InnlupliDus larvae, are 

 "generally termed antennse; Lowne takcs tlicin lu be the maxilla?. 

 "They hâve been studied by Wandolleck (Zool. Anz. 1898, 283) and 

 "this aiithor concludes that the whole organ mnst be taken as an 

 "antenna, and this in spite of his observation, that the upper papilla 

 "with the refractive body gets its nerve from the upper pharyngeal 

 "ganglion, while the other papilla, which is nearer the mouth gets 

 "the nerve from the lower ganglion. De Meijere suggests in his 

 "work on the Lo>trhopfrra-VArva (Zool. Jahrb. Abtheil. fiir Syst., 

 "XIV, 1900, 100) after comparing the organ with the antennae and 



