64 DRY-FLY FISHING 



including, as they do, gnats, midges, smuts ; the 

 gravel-bed, a crane-fly, belongs also to this order. 

 These undergo a complete metamorphosis, that 



is, they are found in larval, 

 pupal, and winged states. 



The gnat (culex) delights in 

 stagnant backwaters of the 

 river, in which the larvae dis- 

 play their wonderful ways and 

 from which on assuming wings 

 they reach the haunts of the 

 trout. The larva hangs ver- 

 tically in the water with its 

 tail end at the surface absorb- 

 ing oxygen, while its head 



feather nidge. swings about below in the 



(ChiTOnomUS) eternal hunt for food. On be- 

 ing disturbed it sinks into 

 safety, but recovering courage or being forced to 

 come up for air it gains the surface again. 



The feather-midges (Chironomus) frequent still 

 or slow-running water. They are known to every- 

 one by their delicate plumed antennae and are often 

 seen dancing in columns within the shelter of the 

 hedge-rows or in quiet corners of the garden. The 

 larva receives the name of the blood-worm, for 

 which its shape and colour are responsible. 



The Diptera which concern the angler are 

 slender-bodied flies, while some are so extremely 

 small in every respect, that they are generally 

 termed motes, or smuts, or curses. These extra- 

 ordinarily minute insects are numerically very strong 

 and therefore form an important and, to all 

 appearances, a favourite food of the trout. Their 



