484 
THE STUDY OF INSECTS . 
members of this family as such. It is to be hoped that 
other characters than those we now know for separating the 
Calyptrate Muscidae from the Acalyptrate Muscidae will 
soon be discovered. 
The Anthomyiids are very common flies. They are 
found on leaves and flowers, and are also often found on win¬ 
dows in our dwellings. The larvae of most species live in 
decaying vegetable matter, a few are parasitic on other in¬ 
sects, and some attack growing plants. Among the latter 
are certain well-known pests infesting garden crops. The 
more important of these are the following:— 
The Cabbage-root Maggot, Phorbia brassicce (Phor'bi-a 
bras'si-cae).—This insect in its larval state feeds on the roots 
of cabbage, radish, turnip, and cauliflower; it also attacks 
the roots of various weeds belonging to the same family of 
plants. It is one of the most serious pests that gardeners 
have to contend with. 
The Onion-fly, Phorbia ceparnm (P. ce-pa'rum).—The 
larva of this species is often exceedingly destructive to 
onions, consuming the bulb of the plant. 
The leaves of beet are often mined by maggots; and it 
has been found that this injury is due to several species of 
Anthomyiids. The most common of these is Pegornyia 
vicina (Peg-o-my'i-a vi-ci'na). 
II. Acalyptrate Muscidae (Ac-a-lyp'trate). 
To this division of the Muscidae belong a very large 
number of common flies. These vary greatly in form, and 
represent a large number of distinct subfamilies. As a rule 
cell III 6 of the wings is widely open (Fig. 591), and vein II 
may be either present or wanting. The alulets are usually 
very small or rudimentary. 
The American species have not yet been sufficiently 
studied to enable us to give a table for separating the sub¬ 
families. We will merely refer, therefore, to a few of the 
more important species. 
