838 Marvels of the Universe 
Photo bu) [P. Enock. 
One of the most beautiful of the flies—the Fairy- 
winged Fly. (Magnified thirty times.) 
Let us take “ The Golden Fairy Fly ’’—whose 
haunt is among grass and rushes. 
An examination of the lower part of one of these 
rushes will show that the green skin is peppered 
with minute dark-coloured specks. These are the 
punctures made by a near relative of the “ Cuckoo- 
spit ’ insect, and underneath we find a number of 
white, flask-shaped eggs radiating from the dark 
puncture. Our next move is to lie flat on our 
stomach, with head low down among the rushes 
and to quietly watch the stems—and possibly we 
shall be rewarded by seeing a Fairy Fly running 
up and down, her feelers in rapid motion, rapping 
the stem. Suddenly her activity ceases, for 
her feelers have touched one of the dark specks, 
and with a tremulous motion, she gently “ sounds ” 
with her clubbed feelers to ascertain the species 
and condition of the hidden eggs. If these prove 
satisfactory, she quickly brings the tip of her egg- 
laying lancets to the head of an egg, and pressing 
with all her might, she forces it between the feelers, and her whole body remains motionless for 
some minutes, while she is laying one of her eggs in one of those of the Cuckoo-spit or Frog-hopper. 
Photo by) ([F. Enock, 
The Aquatic Fairy-fly, which receives its name 
from its ability to fly under water. (Magnified thirty 
times.) 
Withdrawing the weapon, she attacks another 
egg, and “stings”’ that, and sometimes the whole 
cluster, or, maybe, one here and there. 
Of course, the act of laying its egg in that of 
the injurious Frog-hopper’s has doomed the host- 
egg to destruction. In a few weeks, according to 
season, the germ hatches to a legless grub, which, 
feeding upon the fluid, becomes full grown, when 
it can, by most careful illumination, be seen 
moving about. Next commence those mysterious 
changes from pupa to fly only to be seen by hours of 
watching; but to see the actual building up 
of the various organs by the coming together 
of the cells is a sight never to be forgotten. 
From out of a mass of pink circular “ cells,” 
or rings, with darker centres, appear others, which 
come together’? somewhat after the fashion 
of bubbles in a cup of tea! And at first we see 
before our eyes certain indistinct tracings, which 
increase in compactness, and as we strain our 
aching eyes, we recognize that these masses of cells 
have assumed distinct form, and the head, thorax, 
limbs and abdomen are all marked out—in pink, 
until all the cell-material is used up and we see 
distinct organs, all assuming their special colours ; 
the head changing to dark brown, the eyes deep 
crimson, the tiny double-toothed jaws almost black, 
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