OUTLINES OF ENTOMOLOGY. 129 



and " bring them to life." The probable foundation for the latter 

 superstition is that they are in pursuit of the flies that have been at- 

 tracted by the odor of the carrion. It is needless to say that they are 

 absolutely incapable of injuring- any human being, and never show- 

 even the disposition to do so. Their motions are very graceful, and 

 their habits are in the highest degree interesting. They are most 

 numerous in the neighborhood of standing water, and dart back and 

 forth through the clouds of mosquites and small gnats, seizing and 

 devouring them in great numbers. 



Their appearance is familiar to every one. The body is long and 

 slender, tapering backward, and often of brilliant metallic colors, 

 terminating in more or less conspicuous claspers or other appendages. 

 The sides of the head are nearly covered by the large eyes ; the anten- 

 nae are very short and bristle-tipped; the jaws are small but strong, and 

 the parts corresponding to the lips of larger animals are both very 

 large and close completely over the other mouth parts. 



The wings are long, narrow and stiflf, the hinder pair a little larger 

 than the others. They are composed of transparent, closely-netted 

 membrane, in many species crossed by broad dark bands or ornamented 

 with spots and cloudings of crimson or orraige. The legs are rather soft 

 and weak, and are useful chiefly as supports to the body when the insect 

 alights. The females drop their eggs in masses, embedded in a jelly- 

 like substance, into the water, or attach them to the submerged stems 

 of aquatic plants. The larvae are carnivorous, and somewhat resemble 

 the perfect insect in form, but breathe through leaf-like gills at the 

 tip or along the sides of the body. In this age the labium (lower lip) 

 shows a still more remarkable form than in the mature insect; it is very 

 broad and hinged in the middle, and when the insect is at rest folds up 

 over the face like a mask. The anterior edge is furnished with a pair 

 of sharp hooks, and the apparatus can be extended to a great length in 

 reaching after the prey, which is seized by the hooks and carried back 

 to the jaws for mastication. The pupai, when full grown, crawl up the 

 stems of water plants, to which they cling by their legs, while the fly 

 emerges through a slit on the back. 



The May flies or Lake flies (Ephemera), of which there are many 

 species, often arise in clouds at night from the shores of lakes or 

 rivers, and in the morning the ground, especially around lamp-posts 

 and under lighted windows, will be covered with their dead bodies. 

 These insects are very soft-bodied and frail, and, in the perfect state, 

 live but a few hours — ^just long enough to pair and lay their eggs. The 

 head is small, the greater part of its surface being occupied by the 

 eyes ; the antennte are very short and fine. The fore wings are broad 



