394 Professor E. B. Poulton o% 



The predaceous habits of the Gordyluridx were well 

 known to Messrs. Kirby and Spence : — 



" Even Scoiophaga stercoraria and scyhalaria, and pro- 

 bably many others of the same tribe, feed upon small flies, 

 though their proboscis does not seem so well adapted for 

 animal as for vegetable food." * 



The sexes of the captors are seen to be nearly evenly 

 divided in the only record that is fairly complete; that 

 of S. stercoraria. It is certainly remarkable that each of 

 the 7 victims of this species should belong to a different 

 family or sub-family of Diptera, The surprising example 

 of a Tenthredinid victim (of tncrdaria) is of much interest, 

 and prepares us for a wide variety of insect diet when 

 naturalists have seriously turned their attention to the 

 habits of the genus Scatojphaga. 



Ochromyia jejuna, F., Nos. 304-308. 



The Muscinx are not admitted among predaceous 

 Diptera, the structure of the mouth-part being different 

 from that in flies which attack and kill other insects. It 

 is therefore of the utmost importance that any evidence 

 which is held to prove the contrary opinion should be 

 tested and sifted with far more than ordinary care. 



During the past summer (of 1906) I received through 

 the kindness of Mr. E. Ernest Green, a female example 

 (304) of the abundant fly Ochromyia jejuna, together with 

 a winged termite identified by Mr. W, F. Kirby as Termes 

 fajjrobanes, Hg. The insects had been taken at Wellawaya, 

 Ceylon, in November 1905, and Mr. Green described the 

 termite as the prey of the Muscid. The observation is 

 recorded in " Spolia Zeylanica" (see the number following 

 date of capture). Colonel Yerbury, who determined the 

 fly, was decidedly of the opinion that the observation was 

 erroneous. I therefore wrote again to Mr. Green, and 

 received the following reply: — " Peiridcnyia, Ceylon, July 

 17, 1906. The circumstances were as follows. I was 

 personally working my moth-trap, which consists of a 

 powerful acetylene lamp throwing its light on to a white 

 cotton screen. Immediately after lighting up, the screen 

 was covered with a crawling mass of winged termites. 

 While watching these, I noticed the flies actually pouncing 



* Fifth ed. 1828, vol. i, p. 275. 



