Curious Insects, 



505 



Amoog the insects of other orders, the most curious and 

 novel were a group of horned flies, of which I obtained four 

 distinct species, settling on fallen trees and decaying trunks. 

 These remarkable insects, Avhich have been described by Mr. 

 W. W. Saunders as a new genus, under the name of Elapho- 

 mia, or deer-flies, are about half an inch long, slender-bodied, 

 and with very long legs, which they draw together so as to ele- 

 vate their bodies high above the surface they are standing upon. 

 The front pair of legs are much shorter, and these are often 

 stretched directly forward, so as to resemble antennse. The 

 horns spring from beneath the eye, and seem to be a prolon- 

 gation of the lower part of the orbit. In the largest and most sin- 

 gular species, named Elaphomia cervicornis, or the stag-horned 



HORNED FLIES. 



Elaphomia cervicornis. 

 E. brevicornis. 



Elaphomia wallacei. 

 E. alcicornis. 



deer-fly, these horns are nearly as long as the body, having 

 two branches, with two small snags near their bifurcation, so as 

 to resemble the horns of a stag. They are black, with the tips 

 pale, while the body and legs are yellowish-brown, and the 

 eyes (when alive) violet and green. The next species (Ela- 

 phomia wallacei) is of a dark-brown color, banded and spotted 

 with yellow. The horns are about one-third the length of the 

 insect, broad, flat, and of an elongated triangular form. They 

 are of a beautiful pink color, edged with black, and with a 

 pale central stripe. The front pai't of the head is also pink, 

 and the eyes violet pink, with a green stripe across them, giv- 

 ing the insect a very elegant and singular appearance. The 



