THE DUNG-FLIES. 619 



honey-bee ; and it measures, from the face to the tips of the 

 closed wings, from two fifths to one half of an inch, or more. 

 The females are smaller, olive-colored, and sparingly clothed 

 with short whitish hairs, with legs and wings like those of the 

 male. The maggots or young, with the parent insects, five 

 wholly upon dung, and are innocent of any injury to plants. 

 The accusation brought against this insect entitles it to 

 notice in this work, and to the distinction of a name and 

 character by which it may hereafter be known. It may, 

 therefore, be called Scatophaga furcata* the forked dung- 

 eater. 



The dung-flies, or Scatomyians (Scatomyzad-Si), in some 

 of their characters, resemble the flower-flies, having similar 

 wings, and very small ringlets; but their eyes are wide 

 apart, and are of the same size in both sexes. The fly in 

 question keeps its body remarkably clean, notwithstanding 

 its dirty habits, and is neither offensive to the eye nor to the 

 smell. The general color of the male is a bright ochre- 

 yellow. The antennae are pale red, and there is a wide 

 forked red spot on the top of the head. The thorax is 

 obscurely striped with brown above, and is lead-colored 

 below the scutel. The hind body is oblong oval, and covered 

 with long ochre-yellow hairs. The wings are ochre-yellow 

 at the base and on the outer margin; and the two little 

 transverse veins upon each of them are very conspicuous 

 from their dark color and dusky borders. The legs are red- 

 dish yellow, and covered with long ochre-yellow hairs, inter- 

 mixed with which there are a few black bristles ; and there 

 is a faint blackish line on the top of the first pair of thighs. 

 A few black bristles are scattered upon the head and the top 

 of the thorax. The bristle of the antennas, when viewed 

 with a powerful magnifier, is found to be covered with very 

 minute hairs. 



* Pyropa fvrcata, Say. Journ. Acad. Nat. Sciences, Vol. III. p. 98. To an 

 imperfect specimen of this insect, Mr. Say gave the name of Scatophaga postilena, 

 which it bears in the Catalogue of the Insects of Massachusetts. 



