238 BISEASE8 OF THE COTTON PLAOT. 
The LACE-TfiNa Fly. — {ffemerobius ?) 
The larva of tlie lace-wing fly is furnished with two 
long and sharp jaws, by means of which it seizes the cot- 
ton louse, and in a few minutes sucks out the juices, leaving 
merely the white, dried skins to show where it once com- 
mits its ravages. The eggs are very singularly placed at 
the end of a thread-like filament, fastened to the under 
side of the leaf, and are generally deposited near a colony 
of lice, in clusters of a dozen or more together, causing 
them to appear to the casual observer like a bunch of fungi. 
The eggs being hatched in the midst of the cotton lice, the 
young larvae commence their work of extermination, seiz- 
ing the younger lice in their jaws, and holding them in the 
air, and in despite of their struggles, sucking out the juices, 
and finally throwing away the empty skins. 
The larvae of this insect are not quite a fifth of an inch 
in length, and are furnished with a sort of apparatus at the 
extremity of their tails, by means of which they are capable 
of adhering to a leaf, even when all their feet are detached, 
thus being guarded against accidental falls during high 
winds that might otherwise destroy them. When ready to 
change, a thread is spun from the tail, and, often forming a 
rough sort of cobweb, the insect spins a semi-transparent, 
ovoid cocoon, from which it emerges as a beautiful, bright- 
green fly, with two brilliant eyes, which sparkle like gold, 
and four transparent wings, of a greenish cast, delicately 
veined and netted with nerves resembling the most beauti- 
ful lace-work ; and hence the common name. This splen- 
did insect, however, emits a most nauseous and fetid odor 
when held in the hand. 
