262 WONDERS OF INSECT LIFE 



appears as a giant sombre-clad Swallow, darting 

 ever and anon at some Cockchafer or Moth, and 

 bringing its broad wings right over its back and 

 producing, as they strike together, a noise like a 

 pistol shot. 



Now we have reached the meadowland, and as 

 we stoop down to explore the herbage we find 

 the Crane Fly, or Daddy Longlegs, dexterously 

 threading her way, by means of her long legs, 

 through the grasses. This is one of the most 

 interesting insect inhabitants of the countryside. 

 If the reader has never witnessed a female Crane 

 Fly engaged in the act of egg-laying he has a 

 pleasant and entertaining sight in store. The 

 w^ary creature propels her airy form up and down 

 above the grasses until she finally selects a suit- 

 able place wherein to deposit her treasures. The 

 insect possesses a long, tapering body, mazy wings, 

 long legs, and antennae. The female has, in 

 addition, an ovipositor situate upon the extremity 

 of her body. 



An enormous number of eggs are laid, and 

 these remain throughout the Winter in the soft 

 ground where they are deposited. In the Spring 

 they hatch out, and the hard grubs — called Leather 

 Jackets because of their tough character — soon 

 begin to eat up the surrounding grass roots. In 

 meadow and pasture lands much harm is thus 

 committed, but various kinds of feathered folk, 



