FAMILIES SAPROMYZID^, LONCH/EID/B 

 AND ORTALID/E 



The flies of the family Sapromyzidae much resemble those of 

 the last mentioned group, but the wings are rarely spotted. The 

 abdomen is usually rather broad, and short, and egg-shaped. 

 Their larvae are found under the bark of trees or in the burrows 

 of wood-boring insects, or in decaying vegetation of almost any 

 kind. The flies are commonly found in damp spots near their 

 breeding places. 



The Loncheidae is a group which was formerly included in 

 the preceding family and which it very much resembles. The 



Fig. 100. Chaetopsis aenea. 



metamorphoses are not well known, but the larvae of one species 

 have been found in Europe in the stems of weedy plants, and of 

 another in the rootlets of wheat. In this country I have bred 

 Lonchcea polita from dung. 



The Ortalidae comprises a group of flies with usually spotted 

 or banded wings, and frequently of metallic colors. In the larval 

 state they occur under the bark of pine and poplar and in the 

 burrows of wood-boring insects and also in onions, cotton bolls, 



175 



