Flies for May. 5 1 



in their season." If there is anything " in a name," 

 the title of May-fly should certainly not be given 

 to the green drake, seeing that it seldom appears 

 on the water until the beginning of June. This 

 Mr Francis admits, and yet he subscribes to the 

 claims of the green drake. The stone-fly, our May- 

 fly, comes out on Scottish rivers about the 20th of 

 May, and remains in season for about three weeks. 

 In its immature or larva state it is known as the 

 creeper, crab, or gauger, and is, under certain con- 

 ditions, nearly as deadly, a lure as the fully de- 

 veloped insect. It is found in abundance under 

 the stones and pebbles by the river-side, where it 

 reaches its maturity. It will thus be readily under- 

 stood that on those rivers which flow over a sandy 

 or a fine gravelly bed the home of the sand-fly 

 the May-fly is scarcely to be found ; and even 

 on the same river they may be plentiful in some 

 reaches, and entirely absent in others. The insect 

 attains a large size, and although clumsy in its 

 flight, it is very active with its legs, which it uses 

 with surprising effect in paddling its way through 

 the water. The colour is generally described as " a 

 fine brown, ribbed with yellow, and yellower on 

 the belly than the back ; " but my observation has 

 shown me that in the early morning the body has 

 a fine yellow hue, which deepens and passes into a 

 brown as the day wears on ; and further, that in the 



