42 



STORIES OF INSECT LIFE. 



Fig. 41. — Young Dob- 

 son, miicli enlarged. 



composed of a dry, brittle, whitish substance, beneath whicK 



are several layers of minute, yellowish white eggs pressed 



closely together side by side. If you have 



the patience to count the eggs in a single 



disc you will find two or three thousand 



of them. 



Should you be so fortunate as to watch 



the hatching of tliese eggs some moonlit 



summer's night, you would see myriads of 



curious little creatures burst from the egg 



mass and drop to the water below. Each 



one is nearly a fifth of an inch long, and has 



a large head, six long legs, and a pair of 



thread-like projections on each ring of the 

 body (Fig, 41). As soon as they reach the 

 water they seek the shelter of stones and 

 pebbles. Soon they begin to search for 

 little water worms of almost any kind 

 weaker than themselves. This search 

 they keep up as long as they live in the 

 water. 



These little creatures are young " dob- 

 sons." Even in this early stage they 

 must prove formidable foes to the soft 

 bodies of the young May flies, as well as 

 of the larvaB of stone flies, dragon flies, 

 and the various other water-loving insects 

 upon which the dobsons feed. As the 

 days pass they grow gradually in size, 

 and are able to prey upon larger and 

 larger insects to satisfy their increasing 

 appetites. 



Fig. 42. — Full-grown Dob- 

 son, natural size. 



