t)lP'l*ERA OF MINNESOl*A. 



80 



APIOCERIDAE, 



Apiocerids. 



Not found in Minnesota; only about twelve species known in the 

 entire world. A small family ; the species found in the far West and 

 in Australia and Chili. They are flies of considerable size, elongated, 

 and frequent flowers. Aldrich lists seven species as occurring in 

 North America. 



BOMBYLIIDAE, 



The Bee Flies. 



A populous family, many of the individuals common in Minnesota, 

 and striking, in that they have a habit of hovering before blossoms, 

 darting from one to the other with characteristic quickness, inserting 

 their long proboscids (the Bombyliides division) into the flowers for 

 the nectar and pollen contained therein. They are fond of bright 

 sunshine, and are frequently seen resting on the ground in sunny 

 places. They are, for the most part, medium sized, but some are small 

 and some quite large. Some resemble in coloration small bees, the 

 body being fringed with down, or partly covered with hair. Others, 

 unlike these, are characterized by striking markings on their wings. 

 One rather peculiar form found in Minnesota, Systropus macer (Fig. 

 82), resembles somewhat a delicate wasp. 



The family is, to a certain 

 extent, a useful one, in that the 

 larvae of some species are para- 

 sitic in the tgg sacks of grass- 

 hoppers and locusts, and in the 

 larvae and pupae of butterflies 

 and moths, as well as some 

 hymenopterous insects. Out of 

 1,500 or more species occurring 

 in this populous and widely -dis- 

 tributed family, about 460 are 

 natives of North America. 

 The following is a list of those met with so far in this state : Bom-, 

 bylius major, Linn., Fig. 85 ; B. pulchellus, Loew ; B. (?) validus, 

 Loew ; B. rarius, Fab. ; B. atriceps, Loew ; Spogostylum oedipus, Fab. ; 



Fig. 82. Systropus macer. About three 

 times enlarged. Original. 



