Predaceous Insects and their Prey. 367 



and female being without prey at the time. On the 

 other hand three females with prey (Nos. 22, 25 and 40) 

 were seen to be persistently courted by males. In one 

 case (No. 40) both sexes were resting on a leaf, the female 

 absorbing the juices of a small $ Ichneumonid, Pimpla 

 {Itwplectis) pomomni, which was soon sucked dry. She 

 then deliberately withdrew her proboscis from the victim 

 and dropping it upon the leaf faced round upon her suitor 

 in a menacing manner. The male, as if realizing the 

 danger, at once became far more cautious and wary in 

 courtship. When we remember that once in this species 

 (No. 41), and once each in the case of two other species of 

 Asilidm, Promachus xqucdis (No. 96), and Promachtcs, sp. A. 

 (No. 103); the female has been captured devouring the male 

 of her own kind, we can well understand the increased wari- 

 ness observed on this occasion, as well as the persistent 

 courtship of females already provided with prey and the 

 well-known examples of females with prey captured in 

 coit'U.* Four instances of this latter kind are recorded in 

 the present paper, — Lcvphria gibhosa, No. 86 ; Eutolmus 

 apicatus, No. 175; Machimus atricapillus, No. 205, and 

 Ncoitaiims cyanuruSy No. 208. That the male is 

 extremely wary in the courtship of females without prey, 

 the following observations upon D. diadema sufficiently 

 prove. 



July 24th, 1902, 11.45 a.m. La Granja, Sierra Guadar- 

 rama, Spain. — I watched a male Dasypogon diadema 

 pursuing the female. Every time the female flew the 

 male followed and almost invariably settled behind, about 

 three or four inches away, with his head towards her. 

 Sometimes the female on alighting turned round so as to 

 face the direction from which she had flown, and the 

 pursuing male ; but the latter flew round her and took 

 up the characteristic position behind. Not only on 

 these occasions but usually the male flew once or twice 

 round her before alighting, but until the final act this par- 

 ticular male never touched the female. About a quarter 

 of a minute after settling the male flew nearer to the 

 female. Although only three or four inches away he did 

 not walk but flew towards her, taking up a nearer position, 

 in which he sometimes faced her from the side, sometimes 



* Also frequently observed in the Empidse, as stated by Kirby and 

 Spence. For their amusing conjectures as to the significance uf the 

 fact sec footnote f on p. 388. 



