Mr. E. E. Austen on Necrophagous Diptera. 237 



XXXVI. — Necrophagous Diptera attracted hy the Odour of 

 Floioers. By E. E. Austen, Zoological Department, 

 British Museum. 



The British Museum has recently received from Mr. J.H.Hart, 

 F.L.S., Superintendent of the Botanical Department, Trinidad, 

 W.I., a series of Diptera, accompanied by the following 

 note : — " .... you mentioned you would at any time be glad 

 of Diptera. Herewith I send you a miscellaneous collection 

 caught in a flower of Aristolochia gigas, var. Sturtevantii. 

 This flower gives off an odour indistinguishable from that of 

 carrion, so much so that it has on several occasions attracted 

 the vultures of our island [Cathartes aura) and set our 

 workmen hunting for dead fowls &c. The plant is an intro- 

 duction, but we have a smaller and similar one, a native. I 

 think it may be taken, therefore, that the flies will represent 

 the carrion-flies of our district." 



Unfortunately, owing to the fact that they were not sent 

 pinned, but simply wrapped in an envelope of stout paper, 

 which was inserted in a cardboard case for transmission, the 

 specimens arrived in fragments ; consequently the task of 

 determination, never an easy one in the case of flies be- 

 longing to the present group, has been rendered vastly more 

 difiicult. However, so far as I have been able to make them 

 out, the Diptera forwarded by Mr. Hart belong to the follow- 

 ing species, which, it will be observed, are all of them true 

 Muscidie (including Anthomyinge) : — 



1. Lucilia, sp. la 1, ir J • " u 



o r -T T > oome halt-dozen specimens or each. 



z. Lucilta, sp. aha. J ' 



3. Compsomyia macellaria^ F. Twelve specimens. 



4. TachinincB^ gen. et sp. incert. A single specimen. 



5. Musca domestica, L. A single female. 



6. Sarcophaga, sp. Two males, two females. 



7. Ophyra cenescens, Wied. One male, six females. 



In the case of each of the species of Lucih'a above referred 

 to the wings are yellowish, with the apical third brown, while 

 the antennee, face, and cheeks are orange-yellow ; in one of 

 the species, however (the larger, ranging apparently from 

 9 to 11 niillim, in length), the frontal stripe and pleural are 

 also orange-yellow, while in the other and smaller species the 

 frontal stripe, except a spot immediately above the base of 

 the antennai, is black, and the pleurse are metallic green. In 

 each species the greater portion of the first abdominal segment 



