BOMBYLIID^E/ 
597 
The flies are rare, and seem to be usually caught on hill tops, or 
flying about the tops of big trees. The Indian Museum collection 
contains one species ( Hirmoneura montana, Bru.) from Mussoorie, and 
there is an unnamed Trichophthalma from India in the British Museum. 
Bombyliim:. 
Antennce 3 jointed , the terminal style small or absent. Head generally 
rounded , eyes often meeting above in the male . Proboscis long and thin 
or short and thick. Body generally downy , or with thick fur , sometimes 
with scales. Legs usually thin and rather long , feet small. Radius 
four- branched. Basal cells long. Squamce small. Wings often with 
a dark pattern. 
This large family (some 1,500 species are known) is one which forms 
a characteristic feature of the fly fauna of the plains. Its members are 
found in all dry districts, and can be seen hovering about sun-burnt 
banks and paths and in the most arid and unpromising situations. 
Their flight is extremely rapid and well regulated: I once timed a small 
Anthrax hovering about a twig, and for nearly six minutes it remained 
within a space of certainly not more than a cubic inch in extent. 
When disturbed they dart away like lightning, a habit which renders 
their capture rather difficult to accomplish without extravagance in 
time and nervous energy; a great saving in these respects is gained by 
stealthily bringing the net as near as possible and then enclosing the 
fly with a rapid jerk: about sun-set they can often be found by 
sweeping grass. The two main types to which the majority of the 
genera belong are the Bombyliince , hump-backed furry forms with 
long thin proboscis, often looking a good deal like bees, and the 
Anthracince, which are not hump-backed, have a relatively larger 
head, longer abdomen, and short proboscis. Though many Anthracines 
are clothed with thickish hair they are not so characteristically furry 
as the Bombyliince , and some are almost bare, these latter having 
some slight superficial resemblance to small Tabanidce. The majority 
of the commoner species of the plains belong to the Anthracine type, 
though Bombylius and allied genera are not uncommon, especially 
after the rains. The sexes differ in the distance between the eyes, 
those of the males being closer. 
The chief importance of these flies lies in the mode of life of the 
larvae, which are found as parasites in or on the eggs or larvae of 
