GNATS. 



GNATS (CHIRONOMl). 



WHITE has noticed the immense swarms of gnats 

 which are sometimes observable in the fens of the 

 Isle of Ely, and their resemblance to smoke.* In 

 the autumn of 1843, such a cloud of these minute 

 insects was seen rising from the top of the west 

 tower of Ely cathedral, and the deception was so 

 great, that an alarm was raised, under the idea that 

 the cathedral was on fire. It was not till persons 

 had ascended to the top of the building that the 

 cause of the appearance was satisfactorily ascertained. 

 I did not see any of these insects myself, but I was 

 informed by a gentleman of that place that some 



tion, at every instant of life, you may be tormented by insects 

 flying in the air, and how the multitude of these little animals 

 may render vast regions almost uninhabitable. However accus- 

 tomed you may be to endure pain without complaint, however 

 lively an interest you may take in the objects of your researches, it 

 is impossible not to be constantly disturbed by the moschettoes, 

 zancudoes, &c., that cover the face and hands, pierce the clothes 

 with their long sucker in the form of a needle, and, getting into 

 the mouth and nostrils, set you coughing and sneezing when- 

 ever you attempt to speak in the open air." Pers. Narr. vol. v. 

 p. 87. 



The above illustrious traveller has dwelt at considerable length 

 on the subject of the moschettoes in his work, to which we would 

 refer the reader for the sake of the interesting details he has 

 brought together relating to it. He speaks of the importance of 

 this subject, from the great influence which these insects exert "on 

 the welfare of the inhabitants, the salubrity of the climate, and 

 the establishment of new colonies on the rivers of Equinoctial 

 America." 



* Naturalist's Calendar, p. 116. 



