160 GOLDFISH VARIETIES AI^D 



predaceous and very powerful. The smaller sizes are the more to be 

 feared, as they are not so easily seen. While this is a vicious enemy, it is 

 not one that frequently gets into the fish tank except by flight and as only 

 the adults fly they are easily detected by their size. In large outdoor rear- 

 ing pools or lakes they are a very practical menace. The colors range 

 from clear, dark reddish brown to dull olive. With some of the smaller 

 genera, Serphus and Zaitha it was supposed that females lay the eggs on 

 their own backs. Some writers have accepted this popular misconcep- 

 tion without investigation. It has been fully established that the female 

 fastens her eggs on the back of an unwilling male, who only submits to 

 the indignity after a struggle. 



Water Scorpion (Nepidcc). We have here another of the insects 

 spending most of its time in aquatic dirt and rubbish awaiting innocent 

 passers-by who, for their unwariness, will pay with their lives. Water 



Fig. 108. Water Scorpion (Life size) 



scorpions depend upon their obscurity to get near their prey, which they 

 quickly seize with their modified forelegs. While this insect is common 

 enough to the naturalist, it is not one with which the fish-culturist need 

 be seriously concerned. 



Whirligig Beetle (Gyrinidce). This well-known beetle is common 

 to nearly all slow-flowing streams and pools, keeping up a perpetual 

 movement on the surface of the water, on which they glide apparently 

 without effort. On account of its size and shape it is often called the 



Figs. 109 and 110. Whirligig Beetle and Larva (Enlarged three diameters) 



coffee bug. The breeder of fishes is not harrassed by this insect but 

 occasionally an aquarist will be tempted to introduce one in a fish-tank. 

 This is a mistake. They are predaceous and can inflict a severe bite. The 

 larva, which is not so well known, is also predaceous. 



