DIPTERA AND ORTIIOPTKRA WHICH DESTROY ALETIA. 99 
Dipteka, or Two winged Flies. — In tliis order the only species 
that attack the worms, and probably the moths also, belong to the 
Asilifhr, a family of large, fierce flies 
that pounce upon other insects as a 
hawk pounces upon other birds, and Mick 
their substance by means of a strong 
beak. But two species — one the Proeta- 
canihus miUberti Macq. (see Tig. 24), the 
other an ondescribed AsiUu — have been 
seen destroying the worm so far. Asilus 
serin us has been observed to catcli the 
moths npon the wing, afterwards eating 
.1 ;i rr • _ _ i • " ttt« 1 rv; FlG. 94. — rroctacanthu* milberti. (After 
them: while bra.i apical is Wied., IHog- Bu ey .) 
mites discolor Locw, and several species belonging to the above-named 
genera and to Promochns, Laphria, and Dizonias are not uncommon in 
the cotton fields. 
These flies deposit their eggs under ground. The following descrip- 
tion of the act of oviposit inn is taken from a note by Mr. Hubbard, in 
the American Kntomologist (vol. iii., p. 260): 
"I also observed ;i Ughl yellow 4fiZa#-jtjf ovipositing in the ground in an open space 
between the cotton rown. She inserted hei abdomen to I depth of half an inch, and 
deposited only three Of lour ■ ■;_ r ^-, which I secured. During oviposit ion she imitated 
most comically the actions of a do<; dropping its dun<r, ami after finishing, immedi- 
ately raked the earth Into and orer the hole, apparently Yerj carelessly, hut so effect- 
ively, that although l bad marked w ith my eye the exact spot, I failed to detect it, 
until I anearthed the eggs. The eggs are oval, yellowish white, .smooth, and quite 
large." 
Fig. 26. — Mantis Carolina : a, feiualo ; b, male. (After Riley.) 
Orthoptera,or Straight-winged Insects. — The Carolina Mantis 
{Mantis Carolina L., Fig. 25) is also occasionally found in such situa- 
tions, usually confining itself to the borders of the field. It is to be 
