528 



Marvels of Insect Life, 



^:=^=^*?!? 



these organs is entirely lost, and the head and body appear to be surrounded by 

 a delicate haze or a halo. They change h-om place to place with a darting movement 

 and immediately recommence the wonderful hovering which has gained them their 

 common name. In watching the marvellous manner in which this fly can maintain 

 its position as though it were suspended by an invisible wire, one is struck by its 

 resemblance to the aerial performances of the humming-bird and the humming-bird 



hawk -moth. But the 

 ~; — object in view is very 



different : the bird and 

 the moth are intent upon 

 the extraction of nectar 

 from flowers, but the 

 hover-fly ^ is prospecting 

 for a suitable place in 

 which to deposit her eggs. 

 The point she is anxious 

 to decide is whether the 

 plant whose leaves and 

 stems she is surveying is 

 affected by green-fly. If 

 so, then it is a suitable 

 plant to receive her eggs. 

 Herein lies the hover- 

 fly's claim to the con- 

 sideration of the gardener. 

 The green-fly is probably 

 his greatest horror. Its 

 smallness, its power of 

 rapid multiplication with- 

 out cessation throughout 

 the season, and the mys- 

 terious way in which a 

 plant that was apparently 

 quite clean a few days ago 

 is swarming with the pest 

 to-day, make it more 

 Long-Nose Grasshopper. difficult to COpe with 



This spf'ck'S, which is found in Europe and other parts of the world, differs from the usual .-i , j: j-i .J 



grasshopper type in the head tapering to a point considerably in advance of the mouth, tlian mOSt OI tnc gai QCn 



and in the eyes and antennje being borne by the extremity. The antenna are of peculiar ^ _ 13 •(- . 1 . + -T f 



shape and the eyes are modified in shape to suit the situation. SCOUrgCS. JjUt a DatCn OI 



eggs laid by the hover-fly or the lady-bird wiU result in the thorough cleaning of 

 the plant that has received the attentions of these beneficent Insects. At this date 

 most gardeners have accepted the ladv-bird as a friend, but the ministrations of 

 the hover-fly's grub are not so well known to them. The appearance of the fly is 

 to most of them too suggestive of the wasp, and the wasp is undeservedly on their 

 black list. Still, in the case of the hover-fly grub, it is quite easy to affortl the 



• Syrphus. 



