128 DRAGONFLIES AND OTHERS 



abdomen transparent, and dark-brown spots 

 on the wings. It is so transparent, that, 

 when it is resting, one can see through its 

 body the leaf on which it stands. It appears 

 in woods. 



The Drone Fly (Eristalis pertinax), Plate 

 XL, Pig. 9, is brown and yellow, and 

 frequents woodlands. A fly closely allied, 

 Eristalis tenax, is known in its larval stage as 

 the 'Kat-tailed maggot.' It takes up its 

 abode in stagnant water, and stretches out a 

 telescopic tube to the surface for a supply of 

 air, thus anticipating some modern forms of 

 submarine boats. This is another of many 

 instances in which human ingenuity has been 

 forestalled. 



A familiar pest is the Blue Flesh-fly, or 

 Bluebottle (Calliphora vomitoiia), Plate XI., 

 Fig. 10, a bright-blue insect, which frequents 

 butchers' shops, and such places in dwelling- 

 houses as are likely to afford it an opportunity 

 of settling upon meat. The House-fly (Musca 

 domestica), is too familiar to need a figure. It 

 is grey, and the abdomen is yellowish in the 

 male, and darker in the female. This fly is 

 much exposed to the attacks of parasites aud 



