8 POPULAR ENTOMOLOGY. 



transformations seem to be little known ; Latreille supposes 

 them to be parasitical in the nests of other insects. The 

 perfect fly (which very much resembles a Bee, and is hence 

 termed the Bee-fly) may often be met with in fine weather, 

 making a humming sound during its flight. 



This family has been by some authors confounded with 

 Asilida, from which it is however distinguished by the pro- 

 boscis in the latter being very short, and the body longer. 

 The Asilida prey on other insects, which they seize on the 

 wing by means of their fore legs, and extract the juices with 

 the lancet-like parts of the mouth. The larvae in this family 

 reside in the ground ; the body is long, the head scaly ; they 

 are destitute of legs, but make use of the hooks on the 

 head to draw themselves along ; they form no cocoon when 

 about to become pupa3, but undergo the transformation in 

 the same locality in which they have existed in the state of 

 larvse. The finest species is the Asilus crabroniformis, thus 

 named from the resemblance it bears to the Hornet, Vespa 

 cradro. 



