Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1912-03-27

sunbeam. One OF the most plenti'
full species. that known popularity as
the black fairy fly, have captured In
hundreds in the early spring, close
up to the horizontal sash bar OF an
east window. At other times they are
to be found In large numbers running
up and down grass stems in search
OF their host eggs. g..
Even after spending the better part
Of my life IN the study Of these In
sects am compelled to acknowledge
that l know very little OF them. OF
the 81 genera now comprised In the
British fairy flies, have been able
to work out the life history Of but
two. OF course, know considerable
about others OF tho remaining nine
teen, and year by year am adding
/ links that hope will eventually COM
plete the life cycles.
1.-THE common black fairy fly lays
It's eggs In those Of a small water
beetle. found on stems OF plants be-
low the water line. In order, there
fore. to get to its host eggs this fairy
fly must dive beneath the water. The
Alaptus. another common species.
searches for the eggs of fly re-
sembling the common green fly. the
pest OF the gardener. The tiny Camp
TOPEKA papavis, one Of the smallest Of
fairy flies. sometimes appears in hum
dreds on windows, and at my home in
Woking have captured no fewer
than 600, all female, at one time.
Zone of the most extraordinary lit.
tie insects Is that known as Cara
phractus cinctus. It Is aquatic in its
habits. using its delicately fringed
wings for flying through the water.
Its legs are kept perfectly still during
the operation and the fly progresses
with a jerky, zigzag motion.
These insects appear in early
spring-some Of them In March-and
I have captured them as late as De-
cember. They are difficult to breed
because of the difficulty Of discover.
ing their host eggs.
"Of all insects. that popularity call
! ed battledore wing fly is without
doubt the most wonderfully formed
and most beautiful have ever looked
upon. 1t Is less than one-twentieth Of
an inch in length, with its two front
wings shaped like long.handled battle
dores, surrounded by fringe of long
hairs. The hind wings, SO tiny that
even under a powerful microscope the
ordinary observer does not see them.
are armed with three minute hooks
on the upper edge. which fix into
grooves on the upper wings and so
form Strengthening bracket. MY
first capture of the battledore wing
fly was made 80 years ago and It was
only last year, after constant efforts,
that was able to breed It,"
Speaking generally, Enock had high
praise for the work of the bureau Of
entomology Of the United States de-
partment of agriculture. He con-
stantly corresponds with DR.. Leland
O. Howard, It's famous chief, for
whom he has great admiration.
IT we only had the brains in this
country that you have in the United
States" remarked Enock. sorrowfully,
1--WE might be able to give something
worth while to science. We know alb
solutely nothing about the life his
tory of the majority Of crop pests,
and there Is no organization such as
your bureau of entomology to advise
the farmers Of Great Britain The
trouble is there is no money avail
able for field work, and when gov
eminent grant is made the money is
spent in some ineffective way that is
of absolutely no practical use to the
farmer. Some day suppose we shall
wake up"