CHAPTER III. 



ON THE GENERAL CHARACTERS OF THE ORDER DIPTERA AND 

 ITS SUBDIVISIONS, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE TYPE 

 FORM, ' CALLIPHORA ERYTHROCEPHALA.' 



The blow-flies belong to the family Muscidce, one of the most 

 highly specialised groups of the Diptera, the most highly 

 specialised order of the class Insecta. The Diptera are dis- 

 tinguished from other insects by the reduction of the wings 

 to a single pair, which are situated on the meso-thorax ; the 

 posterior or meta-thoracic wings are present in a remarkably 

 modified condition, as halteres, or balancers, and have a very 

 complex sensory organ in their base, which is perhaps con- 

 cerned in audition, so that the halteres cannot be regarded as 



Bibliography.— 



11. ScHiNKK, J. R., ' Die Fliegen-Fauna Austriaca.' Wien, 1861. 



12. Brauek, F., ' Monogiaphie der CEstriden,' mit 10 Kupfertafeln. 



Heiausgegeben von der K.-K. Zool.-Bot. Gesellsch. in Wien. 

 1863. 



13. Brauer, F., ' Kurze Cliarakteristik der Dipteien-larven.' Verliand. 



der Zool.-Bot. Gesellsch. in Wien. Bd. xix., 1869. 



14. Brauer, F., ' Die Zweiflijgler des Kaiserlichen Museum zu Wien.' 



Part 111. ' Systematische Studien der Dipteren Larven.' Denksch. 

 der K. Akad. der Wissenschaft. Matheniat. Naturwissensch. 

 Classe. Bd. xlvii., 1883. 



Contains a complete bibliography of descripiions of dipterous 

 larva;. Parts I. and II. of this paper are systematic and on 

 various genera and species. V&rt L,iiit/.,Bd.x\u. 1880. Part II., 

 tiuf., Bd. xliv. 1882. 



15. Osten-Sacken, C. R., on Mr. Portchinski's publications on the 



larvae of Muscida:. Berlin. Ent. Zeitsch. Bd. xxxi., pp. 17-27. 



An abstract in English of his comparative biology of necro- 

 phagous and coprophagous larva-. 



