Marvels of the Universe 1071 
whether this is caused by the insertion of a 
lancet poisoned from without, or by the 
injection of an irritating fluid at the time of 
biting from within, seems yet doubtful. 
The insect is so. extremely minute and 
excessively tender, that it is no easy matter 
to mount one whole without doing it some 
sort of injury; but such, however, has 
been successfully accomplished, and is shown 
highly magnified in the first illustration. The 
lancets can just be seen hanging down from 
the head, but they are better shown in the 
still more magnified photograph given on 
this page. In this the head is shown to 
be in a great measure formed by a peculiarly- 
shaped overlap of eyes—a mass of them on 
each side of the head being like a flap-eared 
cap such as one sees used in windy weather. 
The portion intervening between the eyes 
is prolonged» downwards into the biting 
apparatus, the lancets and tongue being 
plainly visible, and shown to be supported 
by a very strong and thickened base. On 
either side are a pair of sensory organs, 
whose properties are at present unknown. 
Probably only one on each side is a true 
9 0 : Photo by (LZ. J. Spitta. 
antenna. They are all supplied with beautiful ; HEAD OF MIDGE. 
details, and two of them consist of curiously- Tithe thead ao thaw cfamcdl fama idiom antl pate of dhe me 
shaped pieces jointed together the bulbous markable antennae as well as the mouth parts are shown. 
to) , 
ends of each section being marked by the presence of several sensory hairs and several “ pits,” 
which in insects are usually thought to be organs of sense. 
Looking at the head from the side, as in the photo below, the curious eyes—over a hundred are 
to be counted—are well seen. These are of 
remarkable design. Most insects that have 
compound eyes show them to be a group of 
facets—more like the section of a honeycomb 
—being many thousand (usually about four 
thousand) in number, each one of which is 
a complete eye in itself, as witnessed by the 
fact that each will furnish a distinct image 
of an object placed beneath it. 
In the case of the Midge, however, each 
eye is visible as a distinct protrusion rather 
than a flat facet, and this is shown to be the 
case very plainly in the photo overleaf, which 
is much more magnified. In the ordinary | / 
compound eye of the insect, if it be looked at Photo by} 
sideways, the facets seem all on one level— 
s PS 
HEAD OF MIDGE. 
Here the head is seen from. the side, with the curious eyes 
quite even, in fact, and uniformly flat, having and the base of the lancets and antennae. 
