302 Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 



fishing interests. The supply of bait, if obtained in this manner, 

 is by no means "inexhaustible" as Judge Capron would have us be- 

 lieve. And worse than all is the wanton destruction of small fish 

 that are of no value directly to the angler, but are of immense im- 

 portance in the economy of the fish life of the lake. Hence the 

 following recommendations seem in order : 



, a. Some means should be taken to acquaint the fishermen and 

 especially the seine boys with the common minnows and darters, 

 and with such fish fry as they are likely to get in their seines. 



A collection of the common species, well labelled and placed in 

 the office of the hotels frequented by fishermen would help greatly 

 in this direction. The publication of a small folder setting forth 

 these facts briefly and plainly, and its free distribution among 

 fishermen would also tend to arouse their interest and turn it in 

 the right direction. 



b. There is already a law which limits the size of the seine 

 that can be used in catching minnows. There should be a corollary 

 to that law making it compulsory to throw back alive into the 

 water everything that was not kept for bait. 



c. There should be some restriction in the use of minnows. 

 Most anglers take too many in their buckets, and they die rapidly 

 and are thrown away without having served any legitimate pur- 

 pose. 



Insect Larvae 



Amid the wealth of insect forms which surround the lake and 

 teem in its waters, a few may be selected as of more importance in 

 consequence of their value as fish food. 



I. The Diptera. Two-winged Flies. 



This immense order is represented by an abundance of the 

 aquatic larvse of the Culicidse (mosquito) and Chironomidae 

 (midge) families. 



Species of Chironomus are particularly abundant, and the long 

 jelly strings containing their eggs are common everywhere among 

 the algae during the earlier part of the season. Some of these eggs 

 were hatched and reared in aquariums and it was found that the 

 young larvse ate Spirogyra and similar algae greedily. 



These larvae are eaten by many of the fish in the lake, notably 

 the crappie, the darters, young bass fry, and even by the huge 

 buffalo-fish. 



The larvae of some culicid were found in the stomachs of two 

 darters, Etheosoma IOWSR and Percina caprodes, and in the young 

 fry of Eupomotis gibbosus and Perca flavescens. 



