356 



Where they could have come from, iu such vast numbers, and what 

 brought them to such a high altitude, is of course a matter of pure 

 speculation. 



I had no means of preserving specimens of these insects except to 

 place them between the leaves of a note-book ; in this way some were 

 ke[)t for identification. A gentleman whom I met a few days later pro- 

 nounced the species to be Vaiiessa milberti^ but after presentation of 

 the account of the flight, with the specimens, before the Biological Soci- 

 ety of Washington it was determined for me by Mr. Howard as Vanessa 

 californica. 



March 1, 1890. 



NOTES ON A SPECIES OF NECROPHAGOUS DIPTERA. 



By F. M. Webster. 



The extent to which the mortal part of man is preyed upon by worm£5 

 and insects, after being consigned to its final resting place, has, no doubt, 

 been greatly exaggerated in the popular mind. Oases of such are 

 doubtless exceptional, the exceptions being by no means common. 



Tiie gentleman to whom I am indebted for the specimens and facts 

 upon which this notice is based tells me that within the last five years, 

 and among seven cases of disinterment, this is the onl^' instance which 

 has come under his notice. Of these, four of the bodies had been buried 

 nearly two years or over, and three had been buried about four months. 

 x\.s these disinterments were all made in connection with legal investi- 

 gations of matters usually of a criminal nature, everything about the 

 graves or on or about the bodies was carefully noted, and, therefore, 

 liad anything of the kind occurred in any of the other six cases it would 

 most certainly have not escaped observation. 



On February 1 of the present year. Dr. W. H. Peters, physician 

 and analytical chemist, of La Fayette, Ind., placed in my hands, for in- 

 vestigation, a small quantity of light-colored sediment, intermixed in 

 which were quite a number of small flies, later determined by Professor 

 Riley as belonging in or near the genus Conicera, numerous pupae and a 

 single larva, the sediment having been placed temporarily in a vial of 

 water. These insects, in the various stages of development, Dr. Peters 

 stated had been obtained by himself from a corpse which he had exam- 

 ined only two days before. 



The body was that of a male, German-American, age sixty-two years, 

 height about 5 feet 9 inches and weight about 165 pounds. The death 

 had been a violent one, andliad taken place on January 31, 1888, the 

 body being interred on February 2, two days later. The temperature, 

 according to authentic records, during the time intervening between 

 death and burial ranged from 28° to 37° Fah. The coffin was of wood 

 and of the best modern manufacture, being practically' air tight when 



