DIPTERA : CESTRID^E. 41 7 



wings smoky brown, with brownish-yellow veins. The 

 larvae feed upon the roots of the rhubarb. 



BOMBYLIARII, Latr., OR BEE-FLY FAMILY. This Fam- 

 ily comprises diptera which have a 

 long, slender proboscis, and the body 

 covered with hairs. They fly with 

 great swiftness, and are found in sun- 

 ny paths in woods in spring. 



SYRPHID^E, Leach, OR SYRPHIAN 

 FAMILY. This Family comprises Bee-Fly, Bombyiius aqua- 



Us, Fabr. 



diptera which bear a great resem- 

 blance to the Hymenoptera, many of them looking so 

 much like bees and wasps as to be easily mistaken for 

 them by the casual observer. The head is hemispherical, 

 antennae three-jointed, the third joint largest, eyes large, 

 and body rather flattened. They are ornamented with 

 yellow bands and spots. They fly with amazing rapidity, 

 and many delight to hover immovably over certain spots. 

 In the larva state they feed upon plant-lice. 



DOLICHOPID^E, Latr. This Family embraces small, 

 brilliant, metallic-colored flies, with the abdomen com- 

 pressed and incurved at the tip, legs long, slender, and 

 armed with bristles. They are found solitary in damp 

 situations, or in numbers flying and running upon pools 

 and streams in spring. Dolichopus is generally green. 



GEsTRiD^E, Latr., OR BOT-FLY FAMILY. This Family 

 comprises diptera which have their antennae very short 

 and inserted in two little holes upon the forehead, head 

 large, eyes small, with a large space between them, wings 

 large, covering the balancers, and the hind body of the 

 females with a conical tube bent under the body, and 

 with which they deposit their eggs while flying. The 

 larvae inhabit various parts of the body of herbivorous 

 animals. They are thick, fleshy, without feet, tapering 

 towards the head, which in most cases is armed with 

 18* A A 



