﻿1870.] 203 



periment is one that has no bright colours and is not hairy ; such as 

 Noctua ocantJiographa, The reason for putting the larva in pyroligneous 

 acid or a solution of alum is to harden the skin, so that it may not be 

 inflated too much ; and, if hairy, to prevent the hairs from falling out 

 whilst being handled. "When preserving a brightly-coloured and hairy 

 larva, such as Bombyx neustria, I generally starve it until it is nearly 

 dried up, and then kill it and take the inside out. In conclusion, I 

 would remark that some amount of patience is requisite to ensure 

 success. Any further particulars or explanations that may be required 

 I shall be most happy, if possible, to afford. 

 16, Mark Lane, E.O. : November, 1869. 



NOTES ON THE BRITISH SPECIES OF CHILOSIA. 

 BY G. H. VEEEALL. 



It is my intention, in any notes on the Syrphidce I may publish, to 

 take up a single genus or group of genera and work through the spe- 

 cies ; and I commence with Chilosia, as that is one of the largest and 

 most obscure genera. 



The most tangible characters for separating it from its allies, Syr* 

 plius, Melanostoma, &c, lie in the unicolorous brown, blackish, or 

 bluish colour and pitted front ; superficially some species of Pipiza or 

 Chrysoyaster resemble others in this genus, but the first is distinguished 

 by its hairy perpendicular epistoma, without any knob or prominence, 

 and the second by its unequal sub-apical and discal cells, and by the 

 transversely ribbed front of the female ; also, the third joint of the an- 

 tennae of Chilosia is always round or rounded-oval. 



Mr. Walker has included in this genus Leucozona lucorum, L., now 

 separated by its pale epistoma and markings about the base of the ab- 

 domen, which is more arched. 



In Schiner's catalogue of European Diptera, published in 1864, 

 there are 93 species enumerated, to which about a dozen have since 

 been added ; these probably represent about 70 distinct species, as, in 

 consequence of the insufficient descriptions of many of the earlier 

 authors, the synonymy has always been in a most tangled state. The 

 best descriptions are those of Loew aud Egger, in the " Yerhandlungen 

 der zool. bot. Verein." for 1857 and 3 860, and I have adopted the three 

 groups proposed by Loew, the first of which is distinguished by the 

 presence of distinct hairs on the disc of the epistoma, which must not 

 be confounded with the hairs on the eye-margins, nor with the often 

 abundant tomentum ; these hairs are scarcely distinguishable to the 



