60 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM 



This cannibal larva is called the " Ghost 

 larva," because it is so thin and transparent 

 that you can see right through it. This is most 

 convenient for the Ghost larva, as the tiny 

 creatures of the pool often blunder right into 

 the savage thing, never noticing it is there, 

 as it rests quite still suspended in the water. 



It is a most peculiar-looking " ghost." Its 

 shadowy body is long and thin and measures 

 about two-thirds of an inch from head to tail. 

 It has a very large head, two great bulging 

 eyes, a beak like a parrot's, and jaws like a 

 pair of skinny hands with four or five crooked 

 finger-like teeth, ready to clutch all tiny 

 creatures that come within reach ; and to 

 make matters worse, this strange insect has a 

 most extraordinary pair of antennae ending in 

 bunches of stiff bristles, which curve downward 

 in front of its head and can be used to seize 

 and hold its prey. Altogether the Ghost 

 larva is a regular nightmare sort of creature ; 

 and really, when this appalling object looms 

 suddenly upon the poor little water folk, I am 

 sure it is enough to frighten them into fits, 

 it is so ugly and terrifying. The Ghost larva 

 has one beauty, however ; it is graced with a 

 really splendid tail, which spreads out like an 



