da 
Or 
DIPTERA. 
ments of the abdomen are black, the second and third having a 
white spot on each side, the remaining segments are yellow. The 
wings are yellowish, spotted with black on the inner and hind 
margin. ‘This species is common over the whole of Europe, and 
lives at the expense of caterpillars and other insects, of which 
it sucks the blood with the greatest voracity. 
The Empidie live in the same way as the Asi/ic?, but the males 
are chiefly nourished by the juices of flowers. 
“The rapine they exercise on other insects,” says M. Macquart, in 
his ‘‘ Histoire Naturelle des Diptéres,” “takes place either when 
flying or running, and they seize their victims with their feet, 
which are formed in various ways, and well adapted for their 
purpose. But itis in the air that their hunting, as well as their 
amours, chiefly take place. They unite together in numerous 
companies, which during fine summer evenings whirl like gnats 
about the water’s edge. A singular observation, however, that I 
have made on the Hmpis, is, that among the thousands of pairs 
that I have seen resting on hedges and bushes, nearly all the 
females were occupied in sucking an insect; some had hold of 
small Phryganee,* others of Hphemere,t and the greater part of 
Tipule.” 
The Lmpidi@ have the trunk bent down, and resembling the beak 
of a bird, but the Bombyliarii, on the contrary, have the trunk 
extended straight in front. 
The prevailing type which has given its name to this latter group 
is easily to be recognised by the elegance of the fur which covers 
its body, the slenderness of its feet, and the length of its wings, 
which extend horizontally on each side of the body. 
Much more common in hot climates than in the North, these 
insects, the larvee of which are not yet known, take flight in the 
middie of the day, when the sun’s rays are hottest. They fly very 
fast, making a dull buzzing sound, and hover over flowers, from 
which they draw the juices without settling. 
Fig. 36 represents the Bombylius major, which is common 
enough throughout the whole of Europe. This insect is from four 
to six lines long, black, with yellow fur; the feet light yellow ; 
and the wings have the edges bordered with a sinuous brown band. 
Ep. 

* The insects produced by the caddis or case -worm.—Ep. + May-fiy family. 

