THE OCEAN GNAT. 



71 



of New England a small, slender white larva (Fig. 63a, magnified, 

 and head greatly enlarged ; Fig. 64, pupa and fore foot of larva, 

 showing the hooks), whose body is no thicker than a knitting 

 needle, lives between tides, and has even been dredged at a 

 depth of over a hundred feet, which transforms into a yellow 

 mosquito-like fly 

 (Fig. 65, with 

 head of the fe- 

 male, magnified) 

 which swarms in 

 summer in im- 

 mense numbers. 

 I have -called it 

 provisionally 

 Chironomus oce- 

 anicus, or Ocean 

 gnat. The larvae 

 of other species 

 have been found 

 by Mr. S. I. ' 

 Smith living at 65. Ocean Gnat, 



great depths in our Northern lakes. These kinds of gnats are 

 usually seen early in spring hovering in swarms in mid air. 



The strange fact has been discovered by Grimm, a Russian 

 naturalist, that the pupa of a feathered gnat is capable of laying 

 eggs which produce young during the summer time. Previous 

 to this it had been discovered that a larva of 

 a gnat (Fig. 66, a, 

 eggs from which 

 the young are pro- 

 duced) which lives 

 under the bark of 

 trees in Europe, al- 

 so produced young 

 born alive. 



The Hessian fly 

 (Fig. 67, a, larva; 

 b pupa; c, stalk of wheat injured by larvae) 64. Pupa of Ocean 

 and Wheat midge, which are allied to the Gnat, 



mosquito, are briefly referred to in the calendaT, so that we pass 

 over these to consider another pest of our forests and prairies. 



63. Larva of Of.ean Gnat. 



