Natural history of insects : comprising their architecture, transformations, senses, food, habits--collection, preservation and arrangement . up withinthe body of the insect somewhat like the spring of awatch, so that they can be thrust out to more thandouble their apparent length. To effect the samepurpose, the ovipositor of the ox-fly lengthens, bya series of sliding tubes, precisely like an opera-glass. There are four of these tubes, as may beseen by pressing the belly of the fly till they come * Reaumur, Mem. iv. 505. ANIMAL GALLS. 403 into view. Like other ovipositors of this sort, theyar
Natural history of insects : comprising their architecture, transformations, senses, food, habits--collection, preservation and arrangement . up withinthe body of the insect somewhat like the spring of awatch, so that they can be thrust out to more thandouble their apparent length. To effect the samepurpose, the ovipositor of the ox-fly lengthens, bya series of sliding tubes, precisely like an opera-glass. There are four of these tubes, as may beseen by pressing the belly of the fly till they come * Reaumur, Mem. iv. 505. ANIMAL GALLS. 403 into view. Like other ovipositors of this sort, theyare composed of a horny substance; but the terminalpiece is very different indeed from the same part inthe gall-flies, the tree-hoppers {CicacUe), and theichneumons, being composed of five points,, three ofwhich are longer than the other two, and at firstsight not unlike a Jleur-cle-lys, though, upon nar-rower inspection, they may be discovered to termi-nate in curved points, somewhat like the claw of acat. The two shorter pieces are also pointed, butnot curved; and by the union of the frvCj a tube iscomposed for the passage of the Ovipositor of the hreezc-fly^ greatly mngnijied, iiith a claw and partoj the tube, distinct. It would be necessary, Reaumur confesses, to seethe fly employ this instrument to understand in whatmanner it acts, though he is disposed to consider it 404 INSECT ARCHITECTURE. fit for boring through the hides of cattle. When-ever I have succeeded, he adds, in seeing theseinsects at work, they have usually shown that theyproceeded quite differently from what I had imagined;but unfortunately I have never been able to see oneof them pierce the hide of a cov/ under my eyes.* Mr Bracey Clark, taking another view of thematter, is decidedly of opinion that the fly does notpierce the skin of cattle with its ovipositor at all, butmerely glues its eggs to the hairs, while the grubs,when hatched, eat their way under the skin. If thisbe the fact, as is not improba
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookidnaturalhistoryof01bos, booksubjectinsects
