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Igatpuri. O. octomaculatus. Thorax brownish with 3 black stripes,
abdomen blackish, light yellow pubescence. Wings enormous, yellowish
grey, a black mark at base. L. 4 mm.
Fam. Therevidae. Elongate, pubescent, broad head, slender legs,
antennae short. Adult and larvae predaceous. Larvae in rotten wood or
earth. Pupae free. Adults sit on twigs waiting for prey, head up, abdomen
depressed. Dance in groups early morning. About 500 species described,
about a score in India, one in Maharashtra.
P. brunneus. Head covered with silver grey pubescence, proboscis, thick,
protruding. Body shining black, with grey and yellowish bands. L. 6-7
mm.
Fam. Asilidae (Robber flies) (दर डी, नाडत शांचे टो ) (Plate III, Fig. 42 a & b).
Usually moderate to large, elongate, bristly, strong, piercing proboscis.
Entirely predaceous. Attack insects larger and stronger than themselves.
Larva elongate, cylindrical, dark head, hard skin. Lives in decaying
material. Some predaceous on coleopterous larvae, some scavengers. Pupa
crawls out for fly emergence. About 4,000 species known, 150 in India,
mostly on slopes of the Himalayas, a few in South. None recorded in
Maharashtra though species of Promachus and Laxenecera are commonly
seen.
See Bromley S. W. (1935) Rec. Ind. Mus. 37:219 New Asilidae from
India.
—(1938) Ind. J. Agr. Sci. 5:863 New Asilidae from India.
Fam. Bombylidae (Bee flies) (Plate III, Fig. 43). Densely pubescent,
large to moderate, long projecting proboscis, slender legs, wings generally
darkly marbled, half open at sitting posture. Larvae change in structure
considerably.
FAUNA 449