THE RISE 61 



it had some objective point in view, it may 

 be safely concluded that it has but recently 

 assumed the winged state. In this case it is 

 attractive to the fish only at the moment it 

 emerges from its shuck, or immediately after- 

 ward while it is resting upon the water, for the 

 very obvious reason that it does not appear 

 upon the water again until it is about to deposit 

 its eggs, if a female, or, if of the opposite sex, 

 when it falls lifeless after the fulfilment of its 

 natural duties. 



When the insects are seen dancing about over 

 the water, oftentimes a considerable height 

 above it in some cases thirty feet or more 

 the observer may be quite satisfied that they 

 are the perfect males of the species waiting for 

 the females to appear. After the sexual func- 

 tion has been completed the female may be seen 

 flitting over the water, dipping to the surface 

 and rising again, in the act of depositing her 

 eggs, finally coming to rest as the function is 

 completed, only to be swept away to her death. 

 As she does not travel any considerable distance 

 during this last act of her life, she proves of 

 greatest interest to the fish at this stage of it. 



One who observes closely will see that at the 

 moment the female approaches the water, or 



