LIFE IN POND AND STREAM 9 



creatures, with large flat heads and hook-like 

 jaws, are rolling over together and biting each 

 other for all they are worth ! 



What are all these peculiar creatures ? 

 Insects, you say ? Yes, these funny-looking 

 things are water insects, strange members 

 of the insect world that make their home 

 beneath the water. They are not a special 

 kind of insect ; they belong to several different 

 insect families, and most of them have relations 

 on the land which would quickly drown if they 

 fell into the water. Some water insects live 

 all their lives in ponds or streams ; others, 

 strange to say, spend the first part of their 

 lives, while they are grubs, or larvae, in the 

 water, and the lattei part, when they have 

 become perfect insects, flying about in the 

 air. From ugly grubs they are changed to 

 beautiful winged creatures, reminding us of 

 the enchanted frogs and toads of our fairy 

 tales, which became transformed into princes 

 and princesses. 



It certainly does seem strange that many a 

 gauzy-winged fly, which would be drowned 

 almost at once if you held it beneath the 

 water, has lived quite safely and comfortably 

 there in its early days (almost as strange as 



