12 LIST OF FLIES. 



wings near a quarter, which close very small over the body 

 with a brown horny shine upon them ; of lighter or darker 

 shade, and dim transparency ; shoulders and body dark 

 brown and shiny. Some shew orange at the joints, thighs, 

 legs, and feelers, from a light fleshy grizzle to a dark, red 

 brown, dim transparency. 



This is their winter appearance ; as the season advances 

 they vary from this description in both sizes and colors ; in 

 April they come out of the water in great numbers, and 

 when just hatched, their legs are of a hair-like fleshy 

 grizzle, and their folded wings a glossy steely blue, and bloa 

 transparency ; the females have a dim orange line running 

 down the back ; when in full perfection their bodies are a 

 rich orange color, with a black spot on each joint, along 

 each side, which indicates their time of breeding, when 

 their full length is three-eighths and some to half an inch ; 

 they are the smallest of the brown class, and the most 

 durable of all angling flies ; they are hatching nearly 

 throughout the year, and are the flyfisher's daily com- 

 panion ; in severe frosts the warm sun draws them out and 

 enables them to take wing ; they increase as the summer 

 advances, and in autumn are the most numerous of all the 

 aquatic flies, and are excellent for grayling and smelt to 

 the end, when they are left alone to face the rigours of 

 winter. On the Nidd they call them the Spanish Needle, 

 from their steely hue and small lengthy appearance. Some, 

 probably the males, leave the water when their wings are 

 only in the bud, and may often be seen this month and 

 next, running on the tops of posts and large stones, by the 

 water sides, when the sun shines warm upon them. 



Their bodies are imitated with fine bright orange or 

 yellow silk, more or less waxed, shoulders darkest ; various 

 feathers are used to represent the wings ; bloa from under 

 the judcock or snipe ; brown from the water rail or swift ; 

 purple from the cock pheasant's neck ; and the blue grizzle 



