1456 THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSE 



that I have been lost in wonderment or simply over- 

 come. Flesh and blood is not strong enough to carry 

 on such watchings too long, but the fascination is 

 so great that time after time have I watched the 

 mysterious changes taking place various organs be- 

 ing formed under my eyes the active larva gradu- 

 ally losing all its activity until it appears in pupal 

 form, and then new limbs and organs seem to be 

 evolved from nothing at all. 



The next genus, Litus, is a peculiar one. Its one 

 representative, Litus cynipseus, much resembles a 

 flea in color and form. It is the only fairy fly that 

 takes its time in walking. I have never seen it in 

 a hurry, neither have I ever seen the male and the 

 female is not a plentiful species. 



Eustochus is distinguished by having a deeply 

 marked suture across the club of the antennae, and 

 though Haliday mentions but one species, I have 

 found over a dozen; in fact, of this genus I can 

 always find specimens anywhere on windows, in 

 greenhouses, in railway carriages, besides sweeping 

 them up from grass and all kinds of herbage. I 

 have also seen and caught them flying, and have ob- 

 tained many specimens from spiders' webs. 



Mymar pulchellus is, without doubt, the most 

 extraordinary of the whole family. My first speci- 

 men I caught in a spider's web when living near 

 Finsbury Park. It was very much held by viscid 

 globules, but after many hours' work appeared in 

 Canada balsam a splendid mount. No insect has ex- 

 ercised my power of thought more than this one; 

 but its life history remains a mystery still, though I 



