THE EPHEMERA AND PHYRGAN.EA. 193 



at the bottom ; and according to the plenty or scarcity 

 of these, so they estimate the plenty or scarcity of the 

 May fly, in the season. This is a great mistake, as the 

 caddis has nothing whatever to do with the Ephemerae ; 

 it is the home of the Phryganidae exclusively, and their 

 plenty will determine the abundance of sand, grannom, 

 sedge, cinnamon, and other flies of that class only. 



To trace the Ephemerae through their various trans- 

 formations, we will commence with the egg, which is 

 dropped on the water by the imago, or perfect fly, and 

 which finds its way to the bottom, where it awaits the 

 period of hatching. When hatched, it becomes a very 

 active and predaceous larva (the word larva signifying a 

 mask, as in this form it is the mask of the perfect insect), 

 with six legs and extremely strong hook-shaped mandi- 

 bles, the tail having three whisks, which are the rudiments 

 of the tail of the imago. Along the sides of the larva is a 

 series of small filamentary appendages, serving as fins, and 

 by the aid of which the creature is supposed to breathe 

 under water ; these are somewhat akin to the filaments or 

 fringes of which the gill of fishes are composed, and ex- 

 tract from the water in a similiar manner the oxygen 

 necessary for the larva's existence. Another error of 

 anglers is thus disposed of, viz. that owing to spring 

 floods the larvae of the May fly have been drowned when 

 there is a bad fly year. 1 The process of drowning an 

 insect which lives in the water must be an uncommon one, 

 to say the least of it. These larvae make themselves holes 

 in the bed or banks of the river, or reside under stones, 

 <fec., so as to be safe from the attacks of the many animals 

 which prey on them. After a time, the larva changes 



1 A bad fly season may proceed from two causes : a bad breeding season, 

 when the fly between its transformations is killed by cold nights, &e., or by 

 serious interference -with the gravel or river beds either from Hoods or 

 dredging, when the larvae are crushed and destroyed or removed. 







