Popular IStrttonarn ol Qnimxtsto $atuv. 221 



lives in the perfect state. They are charac- 

 terized by the unequal size of the wings ; the 

 minute size of the antennas ; the membranous 

 and almost obsolete mouth ; and the elon- 

 gated articulated seta: at the extremity of 

 the body, which is long, soft, and slender : 

 the eyes are large, nearly oval, and three 

 ocelli are placed triangularly between them. 

 The most familiar species is the Ephemera 

 vtilr/ata, or common MAY-FLY, so plentiful in 

 the early part of summer about the banks 

 of our rivulets and stagnant waters. It is of 

 a greenish brown colour, with transparent 

 wings, elegantly mottled with brown, and is 

 furnished at the extremity of the body with 

 three very long black bristles. It flutters in : 

 the evening about the surface of the water, j 

 but during the day is generally seen in a ; 

 quiescent posture, with the wings closed, and 

 in an upright position. The larva is about 

 an inch in length, having several finny 

 plumes on each side the body, and at the 

 tail three long feathered processes : it has 

 also a pair of moderately long antennae, 

 though those of the complete insect are ex- 

 tremely short. When arrived at its full 

 size, as above described, it exhibits the rudi- 

 ments of wings on the back, in the form of a 

 pair of oblong sheaths or scales ; its colour 

 being a yellowish or whitish brown. It is 

 supposed to continue in this kind of larva 

 state two years before it assumes the condi- 

 tion of the complete insect. This change 

 takes place in the even ing, when the larva 

 rises to the surface of the water, and soon 

 divesting itself of its skin,fliesto some neigh- 

 bouring object, and after having remained 

 some time longer, again casts its pellicle, 

 and appears in its ultimate or perfect form, 

 in which, as well as in its larva state, it is a 

 favourite food of several kinds of fishes, par- 

 ticularly of the Trout. In some seasons it 

 is extremely plentiful, the air in the imme- 

 diate vicinity of its natal waters being fre- 

 quently blackened by its numbers during 

 the evening hours. 



Swammerdam, the well known writer 

 on Insects, observes, that notwithstanding 

 the dangers to which the eggs, larvae, and 

 pupae are constantly exposed, from the at- 

 tacks of fishes and predaceous aquatic in- 

 sects, the number of specimens which arrive 

 at the perfect state is sometimes so immense, 

 that the swarms of one species with white 

 wings (Ephemera albipennis) has been com- 

 pared to a fall of snow ; whilst, in some 

 parts of Europe where they abound, it is the 

 custom to collect their dead bodies into 

 heaps, and use them 1'or manure. The fishes 

 at such time eagerly wait for them ; and so 

 great are the numbers which fall into the 

 water, that the fishermen call them manna. 



But the most celebrated of all the Ephe- 

 merae is the species popularly termed the 

 DAY-FLY. It is of a white colour, with the 

 anterior rib of the tipper wings black or deep 

 brown, and the tail is furnished with two long 

 bristles. This insect is commemorated as a 

 most remarkable instance of the brevity of 

 animal life ; since after its change into the 

 perfect fly it survives but a very few hours, 

 perishing in the course of the same evening 

 that gave it bi rth. It is to be recollected, how- 



ever, that its larva lives in its aquatic state 

 two, and even sometimes nearly three years ; 

 but when arrived at the proper period, it 

 rises in the evening to the surface of the 

 water ; and the skin of the back cracking, 

 and flying oft" with an elastic motion, the 

 Fly is almost instantly evolved, as in the 

 common species ; after which it flies to the 

 nearest convenient spot, and again divesting 

 itself of its pellicle, appears in its last and 

 perfect state. It now flies again to the 

 water, and fluttering over its surface, as if 

 sporting with its innumerable companions, 

 enjoys all the pleasures of its short remainder 

 of existence : the female breeds, deposits her 

 eggs, and, like the male, perishes before or 

 with the dawn of the approaching day. There 

 are several other species of Ephemerae, of a 

 smaller kind than the foregoing, but pre- 

 senting no remarkable peculiarity or diiler- 

 ence worth describing. 



EPIMACIIUS. A genus of birds allied 

 to the Hoopoes, having, like them, a slender 

 beak, but with velvety or scale-like feathers 

 partly covering the nostrils, as in the Birds 

 of Paradise. The plumage in the species 

 figured is of the most gorgeous description. 

 It is of a deep black, with the feathers mag- 

 nificently glossed with various colours ; the 



long plumes on the flanks being elongated, 

 turned up, and frizzled : the edges of a bur- 

 nished steel blue, sometimes inclining to 

 green. It is a native of some of the islands 

 in the Eastern seas, and, like the Birds of 

 Paradise, to which some naturalists have 

 thought it allied, would form a truly beau- 

 tiful ornament to our aviaries and zoological 

 gardens. 



EPOMOPHORUS. A name applied by 

 Mr. Bennett to one or two species of Foxbats 

 (PteropicUx) from W. Africa, which have re- 

 markable tufts of hairs on the sides. 



EQUUS. The generic name of certain 

 quadrupeds with solid or undivided hoofs ; 

 as the Horse, the Ass, and the Zebra. " This 

 family," says Mr. Gray, speaking of the 

 Efjitidcc, (which is distinguished from all 

 other animals by its undivided hoof, formed 

 of the two anterior toes soldered together, its 

 simple stomach, and its female having the 

 teat placed ou the pubes) " may be divided 



u 3 



