
AQUATIC INSECTS OF FRESHWATER 

hatches on the surface of the water, and stocking with these is an approved 
preventive measure. 
The larve and pupe of mosquitoes are one of the best natural foods 
for goldfishes, in many respects ia to the entomostraca. They 
are usually more easily obtained, larger in size, more tenacious of life and 
are eagerly eaten by the young fishes, who acquire a most remarkably 
rapid growth on this 
diet. It is not ad- 
visible to feed them 
to very small fishes, 
as these are not able 
to swallow them and 
may, in turn, be at- 
tacked by the larve, 
but for fishes which 
have reached a 
growth of half an 
inch, they should 
form one of the 

principal foods. A | 7 
few barrels filled with : Ws 
rain water at any ie 
= < NS =a 
convenient place Zoe Zz 
only are required; in er 
which they may be ae oN 
bred either by the 
visits of female mos- 
quitoes, or more 
quickly stocked by 
catches in ponds and ditches. “They breed very rapidly and are a cleaner 
diet than the usual live pond food. The use of mosquito larve is almost 
FIG. 221. Full-grown larva and pupa of Culex pungens. Greatly enlarged. 
universal among goldfish breeders and is to be in every way recommended. 
Net-Wincep Mnuncss belong to the families of Blepharoceride and 
Chironomide, of which the tiny larve appears more like crustaceans than 
insects. Some of the species, Blepharocera capitata, Chironomus minutus 
and C. plomosus, live in the water during the larval and pupal stages, are of 
black color and consist of segments bearing leg-like appendages, each 
having sucker breathing gills. They usually occur in clusters which 
form black patches on submerged rocks. When the final metamorphosis 
takes place the pupa detaches itself from its mooring, floats to the surface, 
and the Midge rends the case and takes to flight. They form the natural 
267 
