JUNE. 1 79 



They deposit 20,000 young in the space of a few days ; 

 the young grubs increase in weight two hundred times in 

 twenty-four hours, in consequence of their great voracity, 

 so that they must assist wonderfully in clearing the earth 

 of putrid substances ; in five days they acquire their full 

 size, and about the same time is spent in the pupa state, 

 so that in a fortnight there are descendants of the first 

 brood in existence. The larvae of the Muscidw are thick, 

 fleshy, cylindrical, smaller towards the head and truncated 

 at the other extremity ; they are destitute of legs, moving 

 by means of the hooks of the mouth. 



DlPTERA. 



CHIRONOMUS. 



Generic Distinctions. Antennae beautifully feathered in the male ; 

 body slender and elongated ; wings white, with three obscure points, 

 from which arise pale transverse bands. 



CHIRONOMUS PLUMOSUS, the Midge, is much smaller 

 than the Gnat, which it so greatly resembles ; they are often 

 confounded together, but the former wants the long pro- 

 boscis of the latter insect, and is perfectly harmless. The 

 English name is equally applied to several genera, and in- 





