244 THE WOODLANDS. 



about which superstition has much to relate. Ento- 

 mologists generally do not believe that the little Atro- 

 pos divinatorius, with its soft body, is capable of pro- 

 ducing the ticking sounds which have been attributed 

 to it. Whoever has the misfortune to possess a large 

 herbarium of dried plants will soon become conscious 

 of the presence of little soft-bodied insects, not much 

 larger than mites, but members 

 of this family, which are very 

 liable to make themselves at 

 home in such places. 



The Day-flies l or May-flies 

 appear in swarms in the neigh- 

 bourhood of rivers, and some- 

 times these swarms are so large 

 that they inspire dread in coun- 

 ATROPOS. try districts. Reaumur once 



saw them descend so fast that 

 the step on which he stood by the river's bank was 

 covered by a thick layer in a few minutes. He com- 

 pares their falling to that of snow with the largest 

 flakes. Being aquatic in their habits, they are only 

 alluded to in passing. 



The Aphis lion is one of the names which have 

 been applied to the larvae of what is also termed the 

 Lace-wing fly, 2 one of a group of Neuropterous in- 

 sects with small slender bodies, four large transparent 

 net-like wings, and prominent golden eyes. The 

 wings have a greenish tint and reflect delicate prisma- 

 tic colours. The insects fly in the twilight, remaining 



1 Ephemera* 2 Hemerobius ferla. 



