3S2 
FLY. 
presses; and yet survives uninjured these seem- 
ingly destructive operations ! ! ! That I may not 
seem to do injustice to the author by carelessly 
quoting his observation, I shall here give it in his 
own words. “ Musca tenax mira pollet proprie- 
tate, qum possibilitati physicm repugnare videtur. 
Larva enim qine inter ramenta papyracea aquae 
immersa, dum pappus conficitur a bibliopegis, 
malleis ligneis tunditur & fortissimo prelo compri- 
mitur, incolumis tamen vivit.” Am. Acad. 3. 331. 
This is confirmed in the Systema Naturae, where 
we find the observation “ Larva tenacissima, v'lv 
prelo destruenda,'’' which is also rejieated by Fa- 
bricius in his Species lusectorum. 
The above larva commonly changes to a chry- 
salis about the end of August; the skin contract- 
ing, and drying round the body, and the tail con- 
tinuing, in a shrivelled state. After thus remain- 
ing about the space of a fortnight, it gives birth 
to the complete insect, which has so much the ge- 
neral appearance of a Drone that it is very fre- 
quently mistaken for such. It is extremely com- 
mon during the month of Sejitember. 
3Iiisca pendula., which belongs also to this divi- 
sion in the genus, is a moderately large, and very 
beautiful insect. Its colour is black, with four 
bright yellow stripes down the thorax, and three 
broad, interrupted bars across the abdomen; or, 
in other words, this Fly might be described as of 
a bright yellow colour, with the thorax marked by 
four longitudinal black lines, and the abdomen by 
three transverse ones, connected by a black stripe 
