Pond Life 
The larvae of the mayflies may be 
known by the three whisks at the end of 
their tails. They turn into the green 
drake, or mayfly, about the end of 
May. 
This hatching-time of the mayfly is an 
important event in the world of nature. 
For these beautiful insects are con- 
sidered as great delicacies by many fish 
and birds, and, being utterly defenceless, 
can only carry on their continued exist- 
ence by their prodigious numbers and 
their rapid rate of increase. When the 
time comes for them to leave the water 
they crawl out in the same way as do 
the dragon-flies, and the perfect fly 
appears, leaving the empty skin of its 
former state clinging to the rush or 
whatever other object has served as a 
support. (If you haven’t read Charles 
139 
