XXXII. Family CONOPID^. 



Thinly pilose or nearly bare, more or less elongate flies, 

 of moderate size. Head broad; front broad in both sexes; 

 ocelli present or absent. Antennae porreet, the simple 

 third joint with a dorsal arista or terminal style. Oral 

 opening large; proboscis elongate and slender. Abdom- 

 en often constricted toward the base; genitalia usually 

 conspicuous. Basal cells of wing usually large, the 

 anal closed; three posterior cells, the first closed or 

 much narrowed; no spurious vein. An inflatable ptilin- 

 um above the antennae. 



The members of this small family are all flower-flies, 

 not of quick flight. Some have a remarkable resemb- 

 lance to wasps, doubtless protective (see fig. 3, page 18). 

 The genus Stylogaster is remarkable for the very long 

 ovipositor of the female and the elongate proboscis of 

 both sexes; the four or five known species are from Afri- 

 ca, North and South America. The genus departs rath- 

 er from the conopid type, with no essential differences 

 from the Acalypterae. 



Some, perhaps all, of the larvae of this family are par- 

 asitic upon adult hymenoptera (wasps and bees) and 

 orthoptera. The eggs are deposited by the female, in 

 some cases at least, directly upon the bodies of the bees 

 or wasps during flight. The newly hatched larvae bur- 

 row within the abdominal cavity of their host, and there 

 remain, the hind end directed toward the base of the ab- 

 domen, consuming the less vital parts, until ready for 

 transformation into the adults, when they escape from 

 between the abdominal rings of the insect. The larvae 

 of the Conopinae are oval or pyriform, with distinctly 

 differentiated segments, which may be extended or con- 

 (25) 261 



