INSECTS. 485 



busy, curious, thirsty fly, that ' drinks with me,' but does 

 ' not drink as I,' his sole instrument for eating or drinking 

 being his trunk or suck ; the narrow pipe by means of 

 which, when let down upon his dainties, he is enabled to 

 imbibe as much as suits his capacity. This trunk might 

 seem an instrument convenient enough when inserted into 

 a saucer of syrup, or applied to the broken surface of an 

 over-ripe blackberry ; but we often see our sipper of sweets 

 quite as busy on a solid lump of sugar, which we shall find 

 on close inspection growing { small by degrees' under his 

 attack. How, without grinders, does he accomplish the 

 consumption of such crystal condiment? A magnifier 

 will solve the difficulty, and show how the fly dissolves his 

 rock, Hannibal fashion, by a diluent, a salivary fluid passing 

 down through the same pipe, which returns the sugar 

 melted into syrup." 1 



The wings of insects exhibit variety in form and structure, 

 as well as beauty of colouring, the art with which they are 

 connected to the body, the curious manner in which some 

 are folded up, the fine articulations provided for this pur- 

 pose, with the various ramifications by which the nourish- 

 ing fluids are circulated and the wing strengthened, all 

 afford a fund of rational investigation highly entertaining, 

 and exhibiting, when examined under the microscope, 

 beautiful and wonderful design in their formation. Take 

 the Libellulidce, Dragon-flies, as an example, whose wings, 

 with their horny framework, are as elegant, delicate, and 

 as transparent as gauze, often ornamented with coloured 

 spots, which, at different inclinations of the sun's rays, 

 show all the tints of the rainbow. One species (Calepteryx 

 virgo) will be seen sailing for hours over a piece of water, 

 all the while chasing, capturing, and devouring the nume- 

 rous insects that cross its course ; at another time driving 

 away competitors, or making its escape from an enemy, 

 without ever seeming tired or inclined to alight. 



In fine weather, female Dragon-flies are seen to deposit 

 their eggs upon the water, making a strange noise, as 

 though they were beating the water ; the cluster of eggs 

 look like a floating bunch of small grapes. The larvae, 

 when hatched, live in the water; and it is scarcely 



(1) Episodes of Insect Life, a charming book, published by Reeve, 185i. 



