THE CRANE-FLY 



131 



as Dipterous, having a single pair of functional wings and in 

 the place of hind wings a small pair of halteres. The head 

 is small; in the hinder part, which is more or less globular, 

 the compound eyes are conspicuous. In front of these the 

 head is drawn out into a kind of snout which bears the feelers 

 and mouth-parts. The feelers are 13-jointed, and at the 

 base of each 

 joint is a re- 

 gular whorl of 

 bristles. A pair 

 of 4-jointed 

 palps are con- 

 spicuous among 

 the mouth-parts. 

 The crane-fly is 

 remarkable, as 

 everyone knows, 

 for the extreme 

 length and 

 slenderness of 

 its legs, suitable 

 to an insect 

 which has to 

 make its way 

 among the 

 blades of grass, 

 and particularly 

 at the time of 

 egg-laying. The 

 male fly can be 

 distinguished 

 from the female by the form of the abdomen, which is blunt 

 at the extremity, while in the female it is pointed. The 

 pointed extremity is used in egg-laying, and ends in an upper 

 pair of slender prominences, and a lower pair of broader ones. 

 The two pairs can be separated or brought together like a 

 forceps. When the female lays her eggs, she rears up her 

 body into a vertical position, being usually supported by 

 blades of grass, and directs her abdomen downwards. 

 The eggs are then passed out through the forceps. Each 

 is held for a moment, and then placed in a convenient 



Fig. 71.- 



-Female crane-fly, and end of abdomen 

 of male crane-fly. 



