THE INSECTS 



INTRODUCTION 



Unfortunately, no entomologist was assigned to the party study- 

 ing the lake. No special study was, therefore, made of the insects. 

 This is regretted, because so many species of insects or their larvse 

 bear an important relation to the life of the lake. The number 

 of species that enter directly into the menu of the fishes of the 

 lake is undoubtedly many and the total quantity consumed must 

 be very great. 



Such study of the insects as we were able to make was there- 

 fore purely incidental and necessarily very disconnected and in- 

 complete. From time to time examples in various groups were 

 collected. These were sent to the Bureau of Entomology of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, to the specialists of 

 which we are indebted for their identification. For assistance in 

 identifying the species in the various orders we are indebted to 

 several specialists. Professor W. S. Blatchley has helped us with 

 the Orthoptera, Dr. O. A. Johannsen with the Diptera, and Mr. 

 E. P. Van Duzee with the Hemiptera and other groups. 



An exception to this general statement may be made in the case 

 of the Odonata, which were collected and reported upon by Dr. 

 Charles B. Wilson, who spent a part of two summers at the lake 

 and secured such species as were to be found during that time. 



ORDER APTERA 



THE SPRING-TAILS 



Snowfleas, probably Achomtes nivicola, were exceedingly 

 abundant about the edges of the pools and ponds, especially about 

 the woodland pond near Farrar's. They were very active, 

 leaping from the moist leaves about the pond into the water or 

 rather upon its surface. In places they would turn the snow black. 

 On the occasion of a. heavy snowfall late in winter an old inhabi- 

 tant remarked: "This snow will remain until the bugs eat it 

 up." He said that this was common belief and that in parts of 

 Pennsylvania some of the late heavy snows disappeared, not by 

 melting, but by being consumed by snowfleas! A curious super- 

 stition. 



The snowfleas as they grow, often shed their skins on the sur- 

 face of the water, the skin remaining as a thin, white pellicle. 



On March 17, 1901, they were abundant on the snow, and on 

 November 1, 1904, many were seen at the edge of the lake. 



(7) 



