50 INJUmOUS INSECTS AND FUNGI. [Sept. 1894. 



entirely destroyed by the grubs of " Daddy Longlegs," and in 

 1842, much harm was caused by these grubs in various parts of 

 the country, notably to marsh pasture-land in Kent, by the banks 

 of the Thames, in the Isle of Grain, and adjoining districts. A 

 correspondent writes that in 1842 " the grass had been eaten so 

 " bare by the grubs that the dust was blowing on the marsh 

 " pasture-land in July." This extraordinary attack is remem- 

 bered by the old shepherds, who were at their wits' ends to find 

 food for their flocks. In the present year the marsh pasture-land 

 in these same important grazing districts was very badly infested, 

 so that there was hardly any keep in May, end much of the 

 land was quite bare, and as brown as it had been in the previous 

 dry summer. 



It is curious that only the pasture, or regularly grazed land, 

 was attacked, while the meadow-land almost entirely escaped 

 infestation. The drier the grass-land the more severe was 'the 

 attack ; and wet, low- lying, and undrained grass-land was prac- 

 tically quite free from harm. It has been generally supposed 

 that the flies like to deposit their eggs in damp, marshy places, 

 where grass is coarse and luxuriant, but in the attack of the 

 present year in Kent they must have laid their eggs upon grass- 

 land that was dry, brown, and bare of herbage from the effects 

 of the scorching summer of 1893, in preference to the more 

 grassy and dannper meadows. 



As many as 200 of these " leather jackets " have been taken 

 from a square foot of earth dug from grass-land. In the present 

 year, 48 were taken from a square foot of pasture-land in the 

 Isle of Grain. 



Life History. 



The " Daddy Longlegs " fly is a familiar insect. The male is 

 smaller than the female. The body of the female, which has 

 nine joints, and tapers at the end, is about an inch in length, 

 with a wing-measurement of about two inches across. The 

 thorax is ash-grey with brown stripes. The abdomen is 

 tawny in hue, and the wings are grey or brownish -grey. There 

 are six very long legs ; the hinder-legs being longer than the 

 others. 



It has been observed that while laying eggs the female moves 

 over the ground with her body in a vertical position, by the help 

 of the hinder-legs — the two pairs of forelegs being in the air — 

 and the end of the abdomen, which performs the office of another 

 pair of legs. The eggs are placed by the ovipositor on the ground, 

 or upon grass, weeds, or rubbish. Egg- laying takes place in the 

 autumn. One female will lay as many as 300 eggs, according 

 to Curtis. The eggs are of a conical shape, and in colour are 

 shining-black. It is believed that the eggs are hatched in about 

 15 days. The larvae lie in the earth during the winter, feeding 

 upon the stems of grasses and corn near the surface while the 

 weather is open, and going deeper into the earth when frost 



