44 
mer the grass lands in this section were withering and drying up under 
a terrible drought. This corn-field had been poorly culfivated and the 
lower portions grew up to grass and weeds, thereby forming a more 
desirable locality for the females to lay their eggs. In other words, the 
drought of August and September of 1888 drove the moths to the corn- 
fields to oviposit, and the abundance of worms this year is the result. 
The thirty-six cutworms collected on May 28 were taken home and 
immediately placed in a breeding cage, being fed upon clover during 
the few days they remained above ground. The first moth appeared 
on August 23, followed by others up to the 26th, when a medium-sized 
Anthrax was also observed in the cage. As nothing could be found in 
the literature at hand to indicate that any of the Bombyliide had ever 
been reared from lepidopterous larvee, in this country, its occurrence 
was supposed to be accidental, the larva having been in some way 
taken up with the earth in thecage. It was followed, however, on Sep- 
tember 1 by a second adult, and two more appeared on the 4th, others 
appearing up to the 9th, when all doubts as to the bost of these flies 
were removed by two adults issuing from a couple of chrysalids laying 
on the surface of the soil, the Anthrax leaving their empty pupa cases 
protruding half way out from the chrysalids of the Agrotis. The flies 
may be roughly described as from 10 to 13™™ in length, black, densely 
covered with fine silky hairs, those on prescutum and episternum of 
mesothorax, basal half of abdomen, and tuft on posterior margin of 
penultimate segment being silvery white, changing to yellowish, espe- 
cially on the shoulders. 
The same species was frequently observed, near the middle of Sep- 
tember, hovering about over the surface of the ground under trees 
recently denuded of their foliage by the larve of Datana ministra, 
thereby conveying the impression that they might be parasitic upon 
that species also. * 
As nothing whatever is known of the time and method of oviposition 
of the Bombyliida, it will only be safe to say that the eggs were depos- 
ited either on or about the bodies of these cutworms prior to the 28th of 
May. 
In a most excellent paper by Dr. Riley, in the Second Report U.S. 
Entomological Commission, pp. 262-269, larvee of an allied species is 
mentioned as infesting the egg-pods of Caloptenus spretus, being found 
» of different sizes during most of the year. From rearing this species, 
Systechus oreas, O. S., Dr. Riley concludes that, ‘as a rule, but one year 
is required for fuli development ;” but there is great irregularity and ‘a 
tendency to retardation of such development. 
Should the species under consideration be of similar habits, the eggs 
would, as a matter of necessity, have been deposited Jast fall, the larvee 
wintering over in the bodies of these cutworms, which are not usually 
over half grown at the beginning of winter. If this be true it is 
certainly an interesting feature of parasitism. 
“dns eer ine 
