Black fly

“ Hare's ear body, ribbed with silver twist, a greyish dark hackle, the colour of the dark fur on the ear, mallard wings, and tail of the same. Make another fly mixed with orange and yellow mohair.
A black fly ribbed with silver tinsel, black wing with white tips, black hackle, and a yellow head and tail. Hook C.
It would be as well to try very small gaudy flies occasionally, as you may rise a grilse during the time you are fishing for white-trout. A grilse loves to rise at a middling gaudy fly after leaving the sea. Blue, green, and red flies are all good. ”

“ Flies of all kinds swarmed around us, and one in particular, the deer-fly, was a long black fly frightful to look at, from its size and ugliness. Still, as the flies did not circle about in the air as the mosquitoes did, we could better defend ourselves against them. ”

“ The only virtue the black-fly seems to have is its habit of quitting operations at sundown and leaving to other tormenters the task of keeping you awake at night. When the black-fly bites you will know it, and it will leave its mark, when it does leave, which must generally be by your help, for it holds on with commendable persistence. ”

“ If the mosquitoes caused the boys to spend several miserable nights, the black flies annoyed them much during the day. Whenever they had to make a portage, or when they explored a brush-covered region, these little pests attacked their faces and hands. Many people do not at once feel the bite of a black fly, but the insect leaves a puncture from which the blood will run, and on several days Ray and Bruce looked as if they had been in a big fight. ”

“ The black fly will keep you busy until late afternoon; the midges will swarm you about sunset; and the mosquito will preserve the tradition after you have turned in. As for the deer-fly, and others of his piratical breed, he will bite like a dog at any time.
To me the most annoying species is the mosquito. The black fly is sometimes most industrious--I have seen trout fishermen come into camp with the blood literally streaming from their faces--but his great recommendation is that he holds still to be killed. ”

“ They do not rise often when the sun is warm, [121] except in rapid streams. Use small black bodied flies with silver and middling gaudy wings, mixed with teal or cock of the north feather—change it to a gaudy one if they do not take the black. Early in the mornings before the sun strikes the water, and from three o'clock till dark, or about sunset is a good time to move a large fish with a fly he likes. The two flies at the bottom of the plate with "picker," are most likely ones for that time in the day. The plain one is brown body, and wings of mallard. ”

“ The fly, that unremitting persecutor of every animal that lives in the black earth, does not spare the rhinoceros, nor is afraid of his fierceness. He attacks him in the same manner as he does the camel, and would as easily subdue him, but for a stratagem which he practises for his preservation. The time of the fly being the rainy season, the whole black earth, as I have already observed, turns into mire. ”

“ They are broad beans. They are in flower just now, and every flower is a little black-and-white butterfly. That, however, is the good side of the account. If you look closer at them, you will see that each of them appears as if its head had been dipped into coal-dust. There is a congregation of the blackest of all insects hiding in horrid congestion among the leaves and flowers at the top. Compared to them, the green-fly on the roses has almost charm. There is something slummy and unwashed-looking about the black blight. These insects are as foul as a stagnant pond. ”

“ A black object becomes more heated than a white one, when both are exposed under the same conditions. An insect has so much surface in proportion to its bulk that dark-coloured species are heavily handicapped when exposed to the intense sun of the tropics. This is the simple explanation of the fact, which impressed itself upon me as soon as I began to collect butterflies, that the light-coloured species fly in the daytime, and the dark ones in early morning and at dusk. ”

“ I talk to them of a big black Fly and the nests on which she ought to settle, the clay nests so well known to those who have learnt how to extract the honey with a straw in springtime and spread it on a crust of bread. They are to watch that fly and take good note of the nests on which they may see her alight ”

“ Unless one penetrates, however, far north In Canada during black fly season these extraordinary precautions will scarcely be necessary. There Is nowhere In the United States a region where black flies are really very bad (though perhaps I am drawing invidious comparisons in making the statement) , and even in interior Newfoundland they are, compared with the farther north, tame and rather inoffensive though always troublesome. ”

“ Early in the morning and late in the evening, are the best times in the heat of summer. I had a fly sent me some years past, by McPherson Grant, about the size of C or drake size, with which he killed a salmon, twenty pounds weight, in the Spey. The body of the fly was made of yellow silk, red cock's hackle, toucan tail ribbed with gold, jay at the shoulder, a neat gaudily mixed wing, feelers of blue and yellow macaw, and a small black head. ”

“ The fire-fly is more splendid, more surprising, in its flashes. It flashes and is dark, and we watch, staring at the black darkness, for the succeeding flash. It is like watching for rockets to explode in the dark sky: there is an element of impatience which interferes with the pleasure. To admire and have a perfect satisfaction, the insects must be in numbers, in multitudes, sparkling everywhere in the darkness, so that no regard is paid to any individual light, but they are seen as we see snowflakes. ”

“ The insects are already beginning to be troublesome, particularly the black flies—a wicked-looking fly, with black body and white legs and wings; you do not feel their bite for a few minutes, but are made aware of it by a stream of blood flowing from the wound ”

“ This fly attacks man as well as animals. They especially bite around the eyes and nostrils of animals, but are not so particular with man; the head, however, is usually chosen. Linnæus called it the meteoric fly because it often forms clouds around horses’ heads at the approach of rain. The Hydrotæas are usually black or blue-black in colour with bare eyes and simple abdomen, the front femora peculiarly constructed. ”

“ His black wing is seen everywhere. And it is the frequent appearance of these beasts and birds, never familiar, never domesticated, always outside the dwelling, and of evil omen when they fly or steal across the path, which gives to the stories much of their weird and direful character. ”

“ They are not so bold in their depredations as their black cousins, but I fancy they are more sly. Blackbirds will fly away with a cherry in their beaks or a strawberry without any affectation of innocence: the thrush, when startled, goes off “empty-handed.” ”

“ This fly, a male, was mated to black females and gave some black males and females, but also some gray (wild body-color) males and females, showing not only that he was heterozygous for ordinary recessive black, but at the same time that his dark color must be due to another kind of black. The gray F1 flies when mated together gave a series of gray and dark flies in F2 about as follows: In the females 3 grays to 1 dark; in the males 3 grays to 5 dark in color. The result indicated that the new black color, which we call sable, was due to a sex-linked factor. ”

“ The flies to suit the Wandle are generally well known, which are—the Carshalton cocktail, dark hare's ear, blue and pale duns, little peacock fly, furnace fly, small soldier fly, and little black red palmers, the little brown midge and the March brown made very small, small black gnat, and red ant, these flies may be seen in my list for the season, they cannot fail to afford diversion. ”

“ The very small black flies which are such a source of annoyance to travellers in the summer-time, and which fly into our eyes and crawl over our faces during the prevalence of warm windy weather, principally belong to a kind of insect which is characterised by having very remarkable wings when in the adult condition. These insects exist by myriads, and there are several species of them ”

“ There is another sort of fly that proceeds from the water, about the size of the flies on this plate, the body of which is of the colour of the blue feathers on the peacock's neck exactly, its legs are a dark brown colour, almost black, hanging long, and few of them; the wings, which stand upright on its back, or I may say, its head and shoulders, for the head and wings at the roots, and legs spring all out of the one lump which is very thick here in comparison to its beautiful slender body of many joints ”

“ A blue fly with teal wings and blue hackle ribbed with silver, topping in the tail, and red head of mohair, hook B, or BB; and a fly with peacock harl body, black hackle, hen pheasant tail wings mixed, and the tail of the cock bird. ”

“ Thus admonished, the tall young fisher-maiden stepped down by the side of a rock overhanging this wide, black-swirling pool, and proceeded to get her tackle in order.
"You know I'll give you my rod whenever you like to take a turn," said she, addressing Lionel even as she was getting the fly on to the water. "But we can't afford to waste a moment of shadow. I have done nothing all day on account of the sunlight." ”

“ The materials for small trout flies are, mohair, furs of every colour, water rat, fitch, squirrel, mole's fur, hare's ears and neck furs, mouse and common rat fur, martin's fur, sable fur, black spaniel's hair off the ear, black bear's hair for tailing the drake, and all white furs dyed of various shades, such as yellow, yellow-green, gold, orange, cinnamon, light duns, &c. ”

“ Sometimes a swift glimmer of sunlight smote down on the swinging current; but these flashes were brief, for the louring clouds were still being driven over from the west, and no one could tell what the day would bring forth.
"What will Miss Honnor do in a spate like that?" Lionel inquired of the head keeper. "Will she go out at all?"
"Oh, ay, Miss Honnor will go out," Roderick made answer; "but she will only be able to fish the tail-ends o' the pools—ay, and it will not be easy to put a fly over the water, unless the wind goes down a bit." ”

“ Tabanidæ: breeze-flies; ocelli absent; the short well-developed proboscis of the blood-sucking female pierces the skin of mammalia; the abdomen is somewhat pubescent, never hairy; semi-blind; larvæ in damp earth, predaceous.
XVII 31, 37. Leptidæ: a family of few species resembling some Empidæ rather than the flies of any preceding family. Leptis scolopacea is a large fly, common in meadows, yellowish body with black spots.
XVIII 40. Asilidæ: the "robber-flies," which are more boldly voracious than any other raptorial flies, preying on winged insects, large and small ”

“ These little flies may be seen on good size rivers in hundreds, in the summer on sultry days; where there is a stone projecting out of the water they gather round it, and with the motion are carried up and down on the side of the stone, where large trout lie, like ant bears, sucking them in by the dozen; the wing of the water-rail is capital to imitate that of the fly. There is another excellent killing fly that may be used with the above, made thus;—body, gold colour mohair; tip of gold; woodcock or wren hackle for legs; grey partridge tail for wrings; and two fibres of the same for tail ”

“ Uncle Paul searched among the field flowers for a moment and caught a large fly; then, holding it by one wing, put it near the web. The insect, beating about, gets entangled in the threads. The web shakes, the spider leaves its bee and runs, delighted with the fortunate chance that brings him prey again so quickly. The same manœuvers begin again. The fly is first strangled; the epeira opens its pointed fangs, stings the fly a little, and all is over. The victim trembles, stretches itself out, and ceases to move. ”

“ Again the participating musical stumble of the blackbird comes from the tree-branch on the copse margin—a male voice, a bass, with variations of chattering fluency. Late insects linger at the outskirts, and roam the extent of the park. The insect hum rises from the herbage here and there; a bee, trapped by the spider’s snare, hums, buzzing vengeance on the fisher casting his silken net there. In the bushes, a slight fluttering—a leaf floats unheard to the ground, to increase the mouldy earth. ”

“ With his glossy coat and yellow beak the Blackbird is a handsomer bird than the Thrush; his food is much the same: he builds his nest in similar places; he is a great glutton when gooseberries are ripe, and his rich mellow song is highly inspiriting. But he is suspicious and wary; however hard pressed he may be by hunger, you will rarely see him hunting for food in the open field. He prefers the solitude and privacy of 'the bush'. In a furze-brake, a coppice, a wooded water-course, or a thick hedge-row, he chooses his feeding ground, and allows no sort of partnership. ”

“ All the species of all the three sections are single-brooded. Although the flies themselves can inflict no immediate pain, at their mere sight all the animals out at grass on the farm are seized with an instinctive terror, conspicuously greater than when attacked and copiously bled by any "blinden" breeze flies, which, however, fly more silently and settle on their victims very furtively. ”

“ Only that moment come into existence, she is a weakling, with tissues still devoid of any firmness. How does she manage to get out? We shall know by watching a few pupae placed at the bottom of a test-tube filled with earth. The method of the Flesh flies will teach us that of the greenbottles and the other Flies, all of whom make use of the same means.
Enclosed in her pupa, the nascent fly begins by bursting the lid of her casket with a hernia which comes between her two eyes and doubles or trebles the size of her head. ”