D/PTERA. 5 1 



;j " They wage war on other insects," says M. Macquart, in his 



rj '^Histoire Naturelle des Dipteres," "either when flying or running, 



t] md they seize their victims with their feet, which are formed in 



J rarious ways, and well adapted for their purpose, but it is in the 



lir that their hunting, as well as their amours, chiefly takes place. 



rhey unite together in numerous companies, which during fine 



summer evenings whirl like gnats about the water's edge. A singular 



:>bservation, however, that I have made on the Efnpis, is, that among 



the thousands of pairs that I have seen resting on hedges and bushes, 



nearly all the females were occupied in sucking an insect ; some had 



dold of small Phryganece^''' others of EphemercB^\ but the greater 



part of Tipidcer 



The Empidce have the trunk bent down, and resembHng the beak 

 3f a bird ; but the Bornbylidce^ on the contrary, have the trunk 

 extended straight in front. 



The typical genus which has given its name to this latter group is 

 easily to be recognised by the elegance of the fur which covers its 

 body, the slenderness of its feet, and the length ot its wings, which 

 extend horizontally on each side of the body. 



Much more common in hot climates than in the North, these 

 insects, the larvae of which are not yet known, take flight in the 

 middle of the day, when the sun's rays are hottest. They fly very 

 fast, making a dull buzzing sound, and hover over flowers, from which 

 they draw the juices without settling. 



Fig. 2i^ represents the Boi7thyIius major ^ which is common enough 

 throughout the whole of Europe. This insect is from four to six 

 lines long, black, with yellow fur ; the feet light yellow ; and the wings 

 have the edges bordered with a sinuous brown band. 



The genus Anthj-ax, belonging to this family, has a diflerent form 

 to Bombylius. The body is much less hairy; the trunk is short and 

 concealed in the mouth ; the wings, which are very large, are clothed, 

 at least in the principal genus, in a garb of mourning, sufficiently 

 I remarkable, in which the combinations of black and white are 

 admirably diversified. 



*' Here," says M. Macquart, *' the line which separates the two 

 colours is straight ; there it represents gradations, in other cases it is 

 deeply sinuous. Sometimes the dark part shows transparent points. 

 or the glassy part dark spots. Th'is sombre garb, added to the velvet 

 black of the body, gives the Anthrax a most elegant appearance ; 



* The insects produced from the caddis or case-worm.— Ed. 

 t May-fly family.— Ed. 



