Diptera of Minnesota; two-winged flies affecting the farm, garden, stock and household

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1905 Excerpt: ...us as adults, we always ran to obtain a glimpse of the bright uniforms of soldiery. Some such thought must have inspired the naturalist who first called the members of this family "Soldier-Flies," for while some are of modest colors, many show most brilliant and striking features in this direction--yellow and black, or black and green being the most striking combinations, while uniform metallic greens and blues are extremely common. While the smaller species are active, the larger varieties are noticeably slow., They can be picked from flowers by the hand, and make no effort to escape. On June I2th, at Fig. 69. A characteristic Stratiomyid wing. St Anthony Park, within half an hour After Comstock. tiie writes collected from the flowers a Ninebark bush, Physocapus opulifolius which stood in the hot sun, over fifty specimens of this family, representing nine different species. They were exceedingly abundant, and twice that number could readily have been obtained. This bush, a near relative of the golden leaved Spirea, has apparently a great attraction for many flies, as well as Hymenoptera, since member of other families, Muscids, Sarcophagids, Syrphids and Stratiomyids, were swarming about the newly opened flowers. This family is a large one, about 1,000 or more species being known. In the more typical forms the abdomen is broad, and more or less flattened. The venation of the wing is a most striking characteristic (see illustration). The adults are flower lovers. They lay their eggs on the ground, on aquatic plants, and possibly on the water. The larvae feed either upon small animals or upon vegetable matter. The larvae of one species has been found in cow dung and under stones, and another larval form occurs in the in privies; two others in decay...