The Lace Wing Fly 
43 
pungency of this odour one can only 
compare in a lesser degree with that some- 
times given off by certain species of snakes. 
In all probability this is its means of defence, 
as the lace wing is so very delicate an 
insect in every way that it would otherwise 
be a hopelessly easy prey to everything 
which attacked it. On summer evenings 
the lace wing is to be seen plentifully in 
the field and the garden, flying from place 
to place, and is generally pretty easily 
captured. 
How the Eggs are Deposited. — The 
curious way in which the eggs of this 
fly are deposited must have at some 
time attracted the notice of the observant, 
even though they were entirely ignorant 
of the fact that the lace wing had anything 
to do with the process. You may have 
observed certain leaves occasionally, or 
even tender stalks, with fine, slender 
filaments attached to their edges, and these 
filaments have a little ball or knob at the 
ends like fine rows of tassels hanging 
down. The knob-like ends of these threads 
are the eggs of the lace wing fly. These 
in time hatch out, and after their little 
