FLIES AND THEIR WATER BABIES 61 



open feather fan ; but I fear the tiny water 

 creatures who come within reach of the 

 dreadful-looking creature have no time to 

 admire its tail before they are seized and 

 crushed in its horrid jaws. 



There are ever so many flies of different 

 kinds always to be seen flitting and buzzing 

 about near the water whenever the days are 

 bright and sunny. Some of them have spent 

 the first part of their lives beneath the water, 

 but others, although they love to haunt the 

 banks of ponds and streams and the low- 

 lying meadows round about, are not true 

 water insects. 



The quaint-looking Scorpion-fly loves moist, 

 marshy ground, and is often found near the 

 water- side. But it lives as a larva in the soft 

 mud on the banks of the pools and not below 

 the surface. 



You may know the Scorpion-fly by its turned- 

 up tail and its curious beak, which looks like 

 a long, false nose. It is quite a harmless 

 insect, although many people think it stings, 

 as its turned-up tail gives it rather a threaten- 

 ing air. It is a four- winged fly, and its gauzy 

 wings are spotted and splashed with brown. 



The great Drone-fly, however, that looks so 



