284 . INSECTS. 



tapering and delicate ; their wings, four, almost transpa- 

 rent and marked with net-like veins. They keep in 

 continual motion for the purpose of catching smaller 

 insects, on which they mainly feed, and generally deposit 

 their eggs in the water, where the grubs live from one to 

 two years on plants or other insects. 



That most fearful looking, but really harmless and bene- 

 ficent creature, the devil's darning-needle, or dragon-fly, 

 libettula, is a remarkable specimen of this family. They 

 are called demoiselles by the French, wasserjunfern^ water- 

 virgins by the Germans; but, in spite of these pretty 

 appellations, are the tyrants of the surface of the ponds ; 

 they seize and tear to pieces all other insects, including 

 butterflies and mosquitoes, and will clear a house of the 

 common fly. They are cruel, rapacious and insatiable, 

 and I do not know of their ever being used as bait for 

 trout. 



The phryganea, or water-moth, is one of the favorites 

 of the fly-fisher. Its grubs surround themselves with a 

 case formed of wood or grass, and are used by him as 

 bait under the name of caddis-worms. They are the 

 favorite food of the trout in early spring. But the 

 ephemeridce include most of the specimens imitated by 

 the fisherman. The larvae of these live in the water, for 

 one or more years, and then, swimming to the surface, 

 suddenly change into winged insects, delicate and beau- 

 tiful. They sometimes appear in myriads, their dead 

 bodies covering the water. A few make a second change 

 after flying about for a time, and crawl out of their skins 

 once more, leaving their old clothes, to all appearance 

 perfect, sticking to a tree or fence. On their first appear- 



