ENEMIES AND DISEASES 



55 



eye to follow them." The other peculiarity is the 

 noise it makes as it flies about, in this respect quite 

 unlike the common drone-fly. Mr Wilks says : "I can 

 only describe it as something between a shriek and a 

 whistle ; it is of course a small sound in itself, but great 



MERODON EQUESTRIS (The Narcissus Fly). 

 with grub ; and an infested bulb with two holes. 



1. Neck of the bulb, down which the grub generally makes its 



entrance. 



2. The full-grown grub. 



3. The chrysalis. 



4. The fully developed fly. 



a. Hole in shoulder of bulb, probably made by a half-grown grub 



migrating from one bulb to another. 



b. Hole made by the grub at the base of the bulb. 



{From Burbidges "The Narcissus," 1875. By kind permission of the 

 publishers, Messrs Lo-uell, Reeve & Co.) 



in comparison to the size of its author, and you can 

 often hear it at a distance at which the fly itself is 

 unperceived." When it settles it generally hides 

 amongst the Daffodil leaves, and if disturbed goes a 

 very short distance and then settles again. It is in May 

 and June, and occasionally at the beginning of July, that 



