NATURAL HISTORY. 



175 



" What is it, Uncle Philip ?" 



" The boys call it father long-legs, and I 

 dare say you have often seen it. It is the 

 crane-fly, and its pincers are used for putting 

 its egg in the hole it has made for it." 



" Where does it put its eggs. Uncle Philip ?" 



" In the earth, boys ; and to enable the in- 

 sect to do this, the female has the pincers I 

 spoke of: they are made of something like 

 horn, and are sharp at the point. With these 

 she first bores a hole in the ground, and then 

 puts the egg in. The egg is like a grain of 

 gunpowder, and she puts herself in a very 

 curious posture to bore the hole. Here, 

 boys, you may see a picture of the pincers as 

 they appear through a microscope, for they 



Ovipositor and Eggs of the Crane-fly. 



