"They wage war on other insects," says M. Macquart, in his "Histoire Naturelle des Diptères," "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 it is 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 _Empis_, 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 _Phryganeæ_,[13] others of _Ephemeræ_,[14] and the greater part of _Tipulæ_." [13] The insects produced from the caddis or case-worm.--ED. [14] May-fly family.--ED. The _Empidæ_ have the trunk bent down, and resembling the beak of a bird; but the _Bombylidæ_, on the contrary, have the trunk extended straight in front. The typical genus 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 larvæ of which are not yet known, take flight in the middle 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. The genus _Anthrax_, belonging to this family, has a different form to _Bombylius_. The body is much less hairy; the trunk is short and concealed in the mouth; the wings, which are very large, are clothed, at least in the principal genus, in a garb of mourning, sufficiently remarkable, in which the combinations of black and white are admirably diversified. "Here," says M. Macquart, "the line which separates the two colours is straight; there it represents gradations, in other cases it is deeply sinuous. Sometimes the dark part shows transparent points, or the glassy part dark spots. This sombre garb, added to the velvet black of the body, gives the Anthrax a most elegant appearance; and while resting on the corolla of the honeysuckle and hawthorn to suck the juice, forms a most striking contrast, and sets forth its beauty no less than that of those lovely flowers." _Anthrax sinuata_ is common in Europe. The family of the _Syrphidæ_ includes three remarkable types, which we cannot pass over in silence. They are _Vermileo_, _Volucella_, and _Helophilus_.