SECRETARY'S REPORT. 



183 



Fig. 68. 



" mny often be seen flying 

 in the woods in Jnly and 

 Angnst, or resting and 

 basking in the sun upon 

 fallen trees. * * * Its 

 larva and pupa almost ex- 

 actly resemble those of the 

 rapacious Asilians. The 

 larva is a cylindrical 

 whitish maggot, tapering 

 before, and almost rounded 

 behind ; it has only two breathing holes, which are placed in the 

 last ring but one ; and it grows to the length of two inches. 

 It lives and undergoes its transformations in decayed logs and 

 stumps. The pupa measures about an inch and a quarter in 

 length ; it is of a brown color, and nearly cylindrical shape ; 

 its tail is forked ; there are eight thorns on the fore part of its 

 body ; and each ring of the abdomen is edged with numerous 

 sharp teeth like a saw, all these teeth pointing backwards 

 except those on the back of the first ring, which are directed 

 forwards. The pupa pushes itself half way out of the stump 

 when the fly is about to come forth, and the latter makes its 

 escape by splitting open the back of the pupa skin." The 

 imago is black, with the second segment of the abdomen 

 orange-colored above ; the wings are of a shining fuscous tint, 

 and the antennaa are longer than those of most rapacious flies, 

 and clavate, or ending in a swollen club-like appendage. It 

 measures about 1.25 in length, and 2.25 across the expanded 

 wings. 



Pyrgdta undata of Weidemann, or the wavy Pyrgota, (the 

 generic name meaning indented, or marked, like the battle- 

 ments of a tower ; Macquart says this name was bestowed in 

 allusion to the pyramidal form of the 

 head,) (figure 59, Harr.,') is very often 

 found in the eastern part of Massachu- 

 setts, flying into lighted rooms in the 

 evening ; I have captured several speci- 

 mens within a few minutes by exposing 

 a lighted lamp in the window at night, 

 toward the end of June. It is of very 



Fig. 59. 



