SCORPION-FLIES 217 



H. piniperda (Fig. 182). Black, with reddish antennae and legs. Larvae 

 live in pine shoots. 



[Note. As in other sections of this book I suggest here that the young student 

 who is going to make a special hobby of " Beetles " should have one of the cheap 

 pocket-books on the subject, which he should interleave, and use for handy 

 reference on his walks. He will find British Beetles (price is. gd.), published 

 by Kelly, as useful as any, as it contains the greater part of the species re- 

 ferred to in this list, and illustrations very similar to those included here.] 

 ' 



Order XIV. MECOPTERA. 

 We now reach an order which contains one family only 



THE SCORPION-FLIES (Panorpida). 



The Common Scorpion-fly is about an inch long, shining black, with yellow 

 legs, and long narrow transparent wings, spotted with brown. It possesses 

 a curious three-jointed " tail," that of the male ending in a pair of forceps. 

 This appendage is carried over the back like the tail of a scorpion hence the 

 popular name. 



It is, in spite of its appearance, harmless, but feeds upon other insects. 

 The eggs are laid in the ground or in rotten wood, where the larvae, which are 

 like caterpillars, but with eight pairs of prolegs, feed on refuse as well as other 

 living insects. 



Order XV. TRICHOPTERA. 



In this order are placed the Caddis-flies, of which we have a number of 

 species. The female lays her eggs in water, and the larvae construct remarkable 

 cases in which to pass the larval and pupal stages. Some use small bits of 

 stick and leaves; others use leaves only, fastening them together by some 

 sticky secretion ; another species uses sand and small stones ; while yet another 

 uses the shells of small water-snails (often with the real owners still inside). 



The head and front portion of the larvae are well protected, but the rest 

 of the body is soft, and needs the defence which these cases provide. Watch- 

 ing the bed of a clear stream numbers of these larvae may be seen moving, 

 dragging their cases behind them, as a Hermit Crab carries its shell. At the 

 pupal stage, the creature retires into its case, and seals up the end, emerging 

 after a few weeks, and leaving the water to pass into its mature form as the 

 Caddis-fly. The larvae feed on vegetation. 



