30 



horseflies in their webs, or by jumping' upon them from coneeai- 

 ment among the foliage. Many birds include them as part of 

 their food, and various insects have been observed feeding oa 

 the egg-masses. 



Fk;. ICi. — A Kobber-fly. Derom.i/ia (uxjuxtlpennis. enlarged. 

 (After Quaiutance and Briies. U. S. Department of Agriculture, 

 Bureau of Entomology, Bulletin .50.) 



Before leaving this subject it may be well to give brief 

 consideration to a few species of fishes whose habits suggest that 

 they have some connection with the subject. The top-minnow* 

 was observed to be common in Louisiana in both brackish and 

 f.esh water, and is one of the species Dr. L. 0. Howard 

 figures in his "■^r^)S(}uito Book" as feeditig upon mosquito larvae. 

 It is not lai-ge enough for use as food, but flourishes in small 

 ponds as well as in larger bodies of water, and its small size is 

 an advantage, enabling it to go into tlie shallowest places. The 

 species is vivipjirous. c.u'h female giving ])irth to a number of 

 living young, which, it is stated, can i)e rear-ed with the greatest 

 ease, it being necessary only to keep them in water where they 

 can procure sufficient food. Other fishes closely related to this 

 one have similar habits and should receive attention. Pi-t)fessor 

 Garman reports, in Volume III of the Bulletin of the Illinois 

 State Laboratory of Natural Ilistoi-y, that the lai'vai; of horse- 

 flies are eaten in rpiantities by the channel catfish and occa- 



*Oamhuni(i uffinis. 



