64 NEUROPTERA. 



B. hyemalis, so called from appearing in the winter when 

 "the cold north wind doth blow." This insect is of 

 small size, with long legs and body, like the larva of the 

 grasshopper; it is, I believe, not a common insect, but 

 from its small size, and its living under moss and stones, 

 and in snow, at such a season of the year when Ento- 

 mologists are arranging their cabinets rather than 

 collecting, it may be more frequently to be met with 

 than is supposed. 



The Bjaiolddiidoe or Snake-flies, have their prothorax 

 lengthened into a slender neck, terminated by a broad 

 and flattened head. The female has a long ovipositor; 

 and the whole appearance is certainly not inviting. A 

 modern Entomologist once received a specimen of a 

 Snake-fly {Rapliidla ophiopsis, one of the largest British 

 species;, with an urgent request that he would give his 

 opinion as to the probable extent of the injury which a 

 baby, on whose face it was found, might have received. 

 Though the insect is uninviting, it is harmless. The 

 Snake-flies are predaceous, feeding on other insects ; 

 they are to be found near woods and streams. 



The Sialidoe, a family consisting of a few species, is 

 represented in this county by the well-known orl or Alder- 

 fly of the angler. This is the Sialis lutarius of a brown 

 colour, and with wings very strongly veined, and shelving 

 into a kind of roof (Fig. 7). It is excessively common in 

 spring and early summer, and numbers may readily be 

 picked off the stems or leaves of plants on which they have 

 settled, so sluggish are they in their movements. The 

 female is larger and fatter than the male : she deposits her 

 eggs on the leaves and stems of water plants. These clus- 

 ters of eggs are very pretty objects; they are of a reddish 



