BIBIO HORTULANUS. 



267 



every blossom.'* Reaumur is less decided in his opi- 

 nion; for though he perceived that, not being fur- 

 nished with mandibles, they could not, as is supposed, 

 gnaw the buds of fruit-trees ; yet, from their being 

 found crowded upon flowers and buds, he thinks they 

 may suck the juices of these, and thus cause them to 

 wither. | We are satisfied, by repeated observation, 

 that the fly only uses its sucker (haustellum) for sip- 

 ping the honey of flowers, or the gum with which 

 the opening bud is usually covered. The damage 

 of which it is accused is more probably done by cater- 

 pillars, snails, or other night-feeding insects, which, 

 not being seen by day, the fly is blamed for what it is 

 entirely innocent of.J 



Transformations of Bibio hortulanus, Meigen. a, the egg 

 magnified ; 6, the same when hatched ; c, d, the maggot and 

 pupa magnified ; e, /, the same, natural size ; g-, the fly. 



In the case of the blow-flies, LinnaBus tells us that 

 the larvae of three females of Musca vomitoria will 

 devour the carcase of a horse as quickly as would 

 a lion ; and we are not indisposed to take this 



* Raii Hist. Insect. Pref. p. xi. 

 J. R. 



t Reaumur, v. 56. 



