_Scheme_. Its
head A, is exceeding small, in proportion to its body, consisting of two
clusters of pearl'd eyes BB, on each side of its head, whose pearls or
eye-balls are curiously rang'd like those of other Flies; between these, in
the forehead of it, there are plac'd upon two small black balls, CC, two
long jointed horns, tapering towards the top, much resembling the long
horns of Lobsters, each of whose stems or quills, DD, were brisled or
brushed with multitudes of small stiff hairs, issuing out every way from
the several joints, like the strings or sproutings of the herb
_Horse-tail_, which is oft observ'd to grow among Corn, and for the whole
shape, it does very much resemble those _brushy Vegetables_; besides these,
there are two other jointed and brisled horns, or feelers, EE, in the
forepart of the head, and a _proboscis_, F, underneath, which in some Gnats
are very long, streight hollow pipes, by which these creatures are able to
drill and penetrate the skin, and thence, through those pipes suck so much
bloud as to stuff their bellies so full till they be ready to burst.
This small head, with its appurtenances, is fastned on by a short neck, G,
to the middle of the _thorax_, which is large, and seems cased with a
strong black shel, HIK, out of the under part of which, issue six long and
slender legs, LLLLLL, shap'd just like the legs of Flies, but spun or drawn
out longer and slenderer, which could not be express'd in the Figure,
because of their great length; and from the upper part, two oblong, but
slender transparent wings, MM, shaped somewhat like those of a Fly,
underneath each of which, as I have observ'd also in divers sorts of Flies,
and other kinds of Gnats, was placed a small body, N, much resembling a
drop of some transparent glutinous substance, hardned or cool'd, as it was
almost ready to fall, for it has a round knob at the end, which by degrees
grows slenderer into a small stem, and neer the insertion under the wing,
this stem again grows bigger; these little _Pendulums_, I may so call them,
the litle creature vibrates to and fro very quick when it moves its wings,
and I have sometimes observ'd it to move them also, whil'st the wing lay
still, but always their motion seem'd to further the motion of the wing
ready to follow; of what use they are, as to the moving of the wing, or
otherwise, I have not now time to examine.
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