102 FRESH WOODS. 



live and fly, grow weak as the sun inclines 

 towards the west, and die when it sets." The 

 learned M. Pictet says that the insect is 

 furnished with six legs, Aristotle having 

 mistaken their fore-legs for antennae. R. 

 McLachlan says : "These insects (May Flies) 

 are more attended to by the angler than by 

 the entomologist, and much poetry has been 

 written on the taken-for-granted supposition 

 that the romance of their few hours of exis- 

 tence is founded on fact. Possibly, however, 

 some few only live a day or two as perfect 



insects ; but these are exceptions The 



males of some species dance in swarms over 

 the streams ; whereas the females are only to 

 be found among the herbage or taking short 



flights Some species are so abundant 



as to be used for manure, and even for feed- 

 ing pigs (!) on Continental rivers." 



Mr. McLachlan, however, does not tell us 

 h o w long M ay Flies really do live. 1 1 seems to 

 me that, whether their life above water lasts for 

 hours or days, their true life lies below ; there 

 they live, toil, and perform all the drudgery 

 of existence ; and when they come up en- 

 dowed with gauzy, temporary, ephemeral 

 wings, it is, in fact, only to get married ; their 

 nuptials are performed in the air, and whether 

 their honeymoon lasts for a day or a week, 



