NATURAL HISTORY — INSECTS. 207 



and ants, which live in a kind of society. 

 The ant flies, of which, as I mentioned to 

 you, imitations are sometimes used by fish- 

 ermen, were originally maggots, and lastly 

 became furnished with wings — not however, 

 passing the aurelia state for this last trans- 

 formation. 



Poiet. — I beg your pardon, but having 

 lately read an account of these animals in 

 the very interesting book, called " An Intro- 

 duction to Entomology," I think I can cor- 

 rect you in one particular; that the maggot 

 of the ant does assume the form of a chrysalis 

 or pupa, before it becomes a winged animal. 



Hal. — It is true that the immediate tran- 

 sition of the maggot is into a pupa, then into 

 an ant, which is furnished with a kind of 

 case from which the wings emerge for their 

 perfect transformation into the fly or imago 

 state. The males die soon after the sexual 

 intercourse ; the females when impregnated 

 lose their wings, and either voluntarily or by 

 force enter into society with neuter or work- 

 ing ants for the purpose of raising a new 

 generation. 



