LETTER No. XII. [1887. 



THE MAY FLY. 



KITING last week on the subject 

 of the May Fly, I remarked that, 

 as I am not an entomologist, I could 

 not tell the average length of its life. I sug- 

 gested " its life-long day ; " but I was unaware 

 that this is still a matter of doubt. Since 

 then I have consulted two or three learned 

 authorities ; but it seems to be a point on 

 which the learned are not agreed, and May 

 Flies are said to be unsatisfactory insects 

 from a collector's point of view on account of 

 their extreme fragility. Aristotle, speaking 

 of ephemera in general, and apparently with 

 special reference to May Flies, says : " On 

 the river Hypanis, which flows into the 

 Bosphorus, may be seen in the sunshine 

 chrysales, which, in breaking from their en- 

 casement, give birth to an animal furnished 

 with four wings and four legs. These beings 



