hungerford: aquatic hemiptera. 37 



The gist of the matter appears to be that at the proper season 

 bundles of rushes are placed in the shallow lakes and upon 

 these the eggs named by the Mexicans "Axayactl" or water- 

 face, are deposited, gathered by the natives and made with 

 meal into cakes. These are eaten au natural or with green 

 chilis! They are also cooked without further preparation, 

 having then the appearance of fish roe, when they are called 

 "Auhauhtli" or water wheat.' They are said to have a delicate 

 flavor and not to be disdained at fashionable tables. Kirkaldy 

 stated that the dried ova and bugs were being imported into 

 England by the ton for food for fishes. 



Aside from these ''direct benefits" from water bugs, the 

 numerous notes, such as "A Ferocious Water Bug" and others 

 that have appeared from time to time, record isolated bits of 

 behavior of value in the final summing up of their status. 



In a study of the biology of this one group of aquatic 

 organisms some facts of economic value have been brought to 

 view. We have before us now more knowledge concerning the 

 place of the water bugs in the complex of this new field of agri- 

 culture than before. Pisciculture, an important branch of this 

 field, is affected, we find, not only by the killing of the young 

 fish by the larger predatory bugs, but by the fact that the 

 majority of them are contenders for the same entomostracans 

 that make up the bulk of the food supply of young fishes. 



One group of bugs, indeed, themselves afford some possibility 

 of providing forage organisms for the fish culturist. This is 

 the water boatman, which has been found in the stomach con- 

 tents of a number of fishes and which forages on the organic 

 ooze, Spirogyra, and other lower organisms of the ^ool. 



