The Syrphus Flies 



politan species and is rather larger than the honey-bee, which it 

 closely resembles. It frequents flowers and is commonly found 

 in houses on windows late in the autumn. The larvae are found 

 in soft mud and in privies, where they feed upon decaying animal 

 and vegetable matter, transforming to pupa within the last larval 

 skin. Osten Sacken, in two interesting papers on the so-called 

 " Bugonia myth," shows that this idea, which has been prevalent 

 since ancient times and which is that the carcasses of animals may 

 generate swarms of honey-bees, has probably arisen from the fact 

 that this drone fly, breeding in carcasses, has almost universally 

 been mistaken for the honey-bee. The learned Russian author 

 shows the existence of this myth with many nations, including 

 the Chinese and the Japanese. It is mentioned in many places 

 in ancient literature and even occurs in the story of Sampson, in 

 the book of Judges in the Old Testament. 



This family is probably the most attractive group of flies. 

 A collection of specimens is a most interesting one, both from 

 the aesthetic and the scientific point of view. The very frequent 

 instances of protective mimicry referred to above, in themselves 

 should give a great impetus to the study of the group. Moreover, 

 we in this country are most fortunate from the fact that most of 

 our species have been carefully studied and an admirable mono- 

 graph by Dr. Williston has been published by the National 

 Museum, which is one of the most perfect works of its kind 

 which the entomologist is able to consult. A careful work on 

 the life histories of these insects, however, is almost as greatly 

 needed as in the other families of flies. The statements which 

 have been given above are general, but in searching for specific 

 accounts of individual life histories we find that they are lacking. 



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