298 



MANUAL OF THE APIARY. 



thus victimized, is readily known by the small hole in the 

 back, through which the juices were pumped out. 



The insects plainly belong to the family Asilidae, the same 

 that includes the Missouri bee-killer, Asilus Missouriensis, the 

 Nebraska bee-killer, Promachus hastardi, and other predafory 

 insects, several of which, I regret to say, have the same evil 

 habit of killing and devouring our friends of the hive. 



The characters of this family, as given by Loew, one of the 

 greatest authorities on Diptera, or two-winged flies, are pro- 

 longed basal cells of the wings, third longitudinal vein 

 bifurcate, third joint of antenna simple, under lip forming a 

 horny sheath, empodium, a projection below and beneath the 

 claws (Pig. 13] , c), a horny bristle. 



Fig. 128. 



Tig. 131. 



The insects in question belong to Loew's third group, 

 Asilina, as the antennae end in a bristle (Fig. 128), while the 

 second longitudinal vein of the wing (Fig. 129, h) runs into 

 the first (Fig. 129, a). 



The genus is Mallophora. The venation of the wings much 

 resembles that of the genus PromacJms, the same that con- 

 tains the Nebraska bee-killer, though the form of these insects 

 is very different. The Nebraska bee-killer is long and slim 

 like the Asilus Missouriensis (see Fig. 108), while the one in 

 question is much like the neuter bumble-bee in form. 



In Mallophora and Promachus, the venation is as repre- 

 sented in Fig. 129, where, as will be seen, the second vein 



