168 SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



Flies. 



E.g. House-fly, Blue Bottle-fly, Cranefly (Daddy Long 

 Legs), G-nats, Midges, Warble-flies, Bot-flies, Biting-flies 

 of Horses and Cattle. 



These insects have one pair of wings only, and behind 

 them a pair of short knobbed stalks termed halteres or 

 balancers. 



Their mouth parts are adapted for sucking vegetable and 

 other juices, and in some cases for both piercing and sucking, 

 e.g. Gnats and Biting-flies. 



The young of Flies are worm- shaped ; head rudimentary 

 or absent ; legless ; with biting jaws termed a Maggot. 



The larvae of Flies which are aquatic are, however, 

 greatly modified. 



Flies are classed in an Order termed Diptera (two- 

 winged). Fig. 66 2 . 



Bees, Wasps, Ants, Sawflies, Gallflies, Ichneumon Flies. 



These insects have two pairs of wings, which are mem- 

 branous in texture (they are absent in worker Ants). The 

 wings resemble those of Flies, but in these latter, as noted 

 above, there is one pair only. 



The mouth parts are adapted for biting and sucking, or 

 for biting alone. 



The young is in most cases a soft Grub. For our pur- 

 poses we may describe a grub as the young of an insect, 

 which is caterpillar-like in form, but has no hind body 

 legs, or at most a clasping or rudimentary pair at the tip. 

 The larvae of Sawflies are caterpillar-like in form and are 

 known as " false caterpillars." The number of the stump 

 feet varies, but is never so few as ten. 



These insects are classed in the Order Hymenoptera 

 (membrane winged) . 



