230 THE WOODLANDS. 



issues forth, the wings alone have to grow. These 

 two little crumpled-up objects lie on each side of the 

 body, as the newly-escaped fly crawls up a straw or a 

 stick, where the wrinkles expand, and the wings at 

 length take their proper form, covered with a deli- 

 cate iridescent membrane ; and when this is dried in 

 the air, the fly is ready to take its first flight. The 

 popular notion that the small flies which abound, in 

 company with the larger ones, are the young of the 

 same species, is of course an error. 



One of the most noteworthy of two-winged flies is a 

 representative of a group of some sixteen species found 

 in this country, some of which have a buzzing flight, 

 and a form and colouring not unlike that of the 

 hive-bee. The most common is an insect which may 

 often be seen hovering about thistle-heads, and the 

 flowers of dandelion and other composite plants. 1 

 The larvae are aquatic, and are very peculiar, from 

 their long flexible tails. The change into a pupa 

 stage takes place out of the water, in which state they 

 may be found in crevices with the tail still adhering. 

 There is nothing very extraordinary in the appearance 

 of the mature insect, and only an entomologist would 

 appreciate a full description of it. The males fre- 

 quently hover in the air, vibrating their strong wings 

 with a rapidity which renders them invisible ; and 

 the body of the insect appears to be immovable and 

 suspended in the air until it darts off in pursuit of a 

 female, and not unusually returns to the same spot. 



1 Eristalis tenax. 



