56 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM 



but they are no longer able to feed ; for their 

 great, big helmets are tightly closed, and it is 

 quite impossible for them to eat anything. 



They rise to the top of the water, head first 

 now, instead of tail first, for the young Gnats 

 no longer breathe through their tails. Instead 

 of little breathing cups they have two little 

 trumpet- shaped tubes on the back of their 

 helmets, and these are pushed through the 

 surface-film to take in the air. 



And now the time is drawing near when the 

 strange children of the Grey Gnat are to make 

 their last wondrous change. Not only will 

 they change in form, but their lives will be 

 altered too. They must leave the dark pond 

 in which they have passed their early days, 

 and rise like winged fairies into the air and 

 sunshine. 



Inside the curious helmet, which each little 

 creature wears, the gauzy wings, the head, 

 and the slender legs of the gnat are growing ; 

 and as soon as the transformation is complete 

 the ugly pupa rises for the last time to the 

 top of the water. 



Slowly the helmet is pushed above the 

 surface. The air dries the skin, it cracks, and 

 through the rent the dainty Gnat gradually 



