INTRODUCTION. 15 



is a beautiful orange colour, though there is another and 

 larger beetle, which has a dark body instead of an orange one, 

 and the elytra (wing cases) are rather more dingy in colour. 

 The Sailor Beetle (Telephoms msticiis) is a similar insect, but 

 has blue elytra and legs. The fifth beetle illustrated (No. /o) 

 is a very common one (Rlaphrus c up re us) } with dark metallic 

 blue and greenish elytra, often found under stones, etc., by the 

 water side, from which it is washed out whenever the water 

 rises, and becomes a prey to the trout, which take it greedily. 



There are many other varieties which are locally abundant, 

 and if seen on the water, no doubt will repay the trouble of 

 imitating. Our object, however, is not to multiply patterns, 

 but to choose only the most useful and typical. 



The water beetles are often taken by trout, but No. 5 is 

 fairly like several of the common varieties. 



IV 7 . Diptcra, as the name suggests, are the flies with two 

 wings only, membraneous usually, transparent, and never very 

 large; behind the wings a pair of .small erect capitate bodies 

 halterers-or balancers as they are sometimes called. The 

 mouth parts are formed for sucking, and sometimes take the 

 form of a proboscis, which can be retracted at will. The 

 usual larval form is a small grub or maggot without feet. 



Those which most interest us are the Tipulidce or Crane- 

 flies (plate I, figs, i 5), the}- are all useful to anglers, but in 

 their larval stages, a scourge to farmers, doing great damage 

 to the roots of their crops. The winter gnats (Limnobina) 

 also belong to this family. 



Examples of the mosquitoes (Culicidcs)^ of which we 

 have about ten varieties, and the gnats (Chironomid&)i of 

 which two hundred species are indigenous to this country, are 

 shown on plate I, figs. 6 10. 



Included in the diptcra are the Syriphida or hoverers, of 

 brilliant yellow and black, which possess such marvellous 

 powers of flight ; the woodflies (Sarcophagidcv) ; the blowflies 



