12 LIST OF FLIES. 
wings near a quarter, which close very small over the body 
with a brown horny shine upon them ; of lighter or darker 
shade, and dim transparency ; shoulders and body dark 
brown and shiny. Some shew orange at the joints, thighs, 
legs, and feelers, from a light fleshy grizzle to a dark, red 
brown, dim transparency. 
This is their winter appearance ; as the season advances 
they vary from this description in both sizes and colors ; in 
April they come out of the water in great numbers, and 
when just hatched, their legs are of a hair-like fleshy 
grizzle, and their folded wings a glossy steely blue, and bloa 
transparency ; the females have a dim orange line running 
down the back; when in full perfection their bodies are a 
rich orange color, with a black spot on each joint, along 
each side, which indicates their time of breeding, when 
their full length is three-eighths and some to half an inch; 
they are the smallest of the brown class, and the most 
durable of all angling flies; they are hatching nearly 
throughout the year, and are the flyfisher’s daily com- 
panion ; in severe frosts the warm sun draws them out and 
enables them to take wing; they increase as the summer 
advances, and in autumn are the most numerous of all the 
aquatic flies, and are excellent for grayling and smelt to 
the end, when they are left alone to face the rigours of 
winter. On the Nidd they call them the Spanish Needle, 
from their steely hue and small lengthy appearance. Some, 
probably the males, leave the water when their wings are 
only in the bud, and may often be seen this month and 
next, running on the tops of posts and large stones, by the 
water sides, when the sun shines warm upon them. 
Their bodies are imitated with fine bright orange or 
yellow silk, more or less waxed, shoulders darkest ; various 
feathers are used to represent the wings; bloa from under 
the judcock or snipe; brown from the water rail or swift ; 
purple from the cock pheasant’s neck ; and the blue grizzle 
