Why did the ancient philosophers believe that maggots, flies, and other insects, were generated from putri-fying substances?
Because the wonderful metamorphoses to which they are subjected, conceal their identity from the eye of the uninitiated, and greatly interfere with a continuous tracing of the same individual, from the egg to the perfect form. For example – many aquatic flies, such as the Ephemerae and others, whose declared and more obvious existence, does not exceed a few hours, have, previous to their assuming the winged state, spent months or even years in the banks of rivers, and beneath the surface of the stream.
