MAY. 113 



genera feed on small insects ; others prefer vegetable food, 

 that named Zabrus being very destructive to wheat. The 

 larvae are longish, furnished with strong jaws and a forked 

 tail. 



NEUROPTERA. EPHEMERID.E. 

 EPHEMEBA. 



Generic Distinctions. Antenna very short, terminated by a 

 seta ; mandibles nearly obsolete ; palpi very indistinct ; legs long 

 and slender, the first pair being inserted close to the head ; body 

 long ; wings triangular and horizontal. 



EPHEMERA VULGATA (Plate IY.), Common May -Fly, is of 

 a greenish-brown colour, having transparent wings, mottled 

 with brown ; it has three long black bristles at the end of 

 the body. 



EPHEMERA ALBIPENNIS is remarkable for the whiteness 

 of its wings, so that the swarms look like a fall of snow. 

 The generic name is given in consequence of the short 

 duration of the insect's life after attaining its perfect state. 

 The Ephemera appear in swarms after sunset, from the 

 latter end of the month till autumn, flying along the mar- 

 gins of streams, alternately rising and falling, with an ele- 



