observed one specimen, which had been wet, struggle to a dry piece of sand (about a quarter of an inch in diameter), and, mounting this, stand up with its feet held closely together and stretch out its wings to dry in the wind. In this, I think, it would have been successful had it not happened that a wave coming up a little farther than usual enveloped the fly, and carried it back into the struggling mass of its fellows. As the tide went out there was left stretching along the beach a sinuous line composed of these flies and also representatives of other genera. Enormous numbers of Diptera are thus destroyed. When walking along Ocean Beach one day I was surprised to see a black continuous band stretching along the sand as far as the eye could reach; on examining it I found this dark line to be composed of myriads of small black flies belonging to the family Mycetophilidœ, which were evidently carried there by a strong breeze.

Saropogon hudsoni.

Found at Taieri Mouth in company with S. fugiens. I also captured a single specimen on Mount Cargill during February (1909); the weather was very hot and sunny, there being no wind.

Itamus varius. (Plate XXIX, fig. 6.)

Captured on the sea-beach at Taieri Mouth, January (1908). This fly was not then common: only a single representative was captured in this locality. It was more abundant at Barewood, Central Otago, where I captured several during December (1908). The specimens observed at Barewood would, when approached, either fly for a short distance and again alight or run into a tussock.