BIBIO HORTULANUS. 



267 



every blossom.'* Reaumur is less decided in his opi- 

 nion; for though he perceived that, not being fur- 

 nished with mandibles, they could not, as is supposed, 

 gnaw the buds of fruit-trees ; yet, from their being 

 found crowded upon flowers and buds, he thinks they 

 may suck the juices of these, and thus cause them to 

 wither. "f We are satisfied, by repeated observation, 

 that the fly only uses its sucker {haustelliim) for sip- 

 ping the honey of flowers, or the gum with which 

 the opening bud is usually covered. The damage 

 of which it is accused is more probably done by cater- 

 pillars, snails, or other night-feeding insects, which, 

 not being seen by day, the fly is blamed for what it is 

 entirely innocent of^.J 



Transformations of Bibio horiulanus, Meigen. a, the egg 

 magnified ; b, the same when hatched ; c, d, the maggot and 

 pupa magnified ; e, f, the same, natural size ; g-, the fly. 



In the case of the blow-flies, Linnaeus tells us that 

 the larvae of three females of Mtisca vomitoria will 

 devour the carcase of a horse as quickly as would 

 a lion ; and we are not indisposed to take this 



Raii Hist. Insect. Pref. p. xi. 

 t J. R. 



t Reaumur, v. 56. 



