476 



THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



Family CONOPlDyE (Co-nop'i-dae). 

 The Thick-head Flies, 



With the members of this family the head is large, being 

 broader than the thorax. The body is more or less elon- 

 gate ; sometimes the abdomen has a long, slender pedicel 

 like that of certain wasps. The body may be naked or 

 thinly clothed with fine hair, but it is rarely bristly. 



The ocelli may be either present or absent. The an- 

 tennae are prominent, and project forward ; they are three- 

 jointed ; and the third segment bears either a dorsal bristle 



.'iiii iin2+3 



^114+5 



VIIa+TX' 

 Fig. 582. — Wing' of Qonojfs njffinis. 



or a terminal style. Vein III of the wings (Fig. 582) is only 

 three-branched. The last branch of vein III and the first 

 branch of vein V end near together or coalesce at their tips. 

 Cell V2 is divided by a cross-vein. Vein V3 coalesces with 

 vein VII, for nearly its entire length. Veins VII^ and IX 



coalesce at their tips, and sometimes for 

 nearly the entire length of vein VI I^. 



The adult flies are found on flowers. 

 In some genera the abdomen is long, with 

 a slender, wasp-like pedicel (Fig. 583). In 

 others the abdomen is of the more usual 

 Fig. 583.— c^«^/j. {q^vcl. The larvas are parasitic, chiefly upon 

 bumblebees and wasps, but some species infest locusts. 



