THE LIFE EPHEMERAL 



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Photozraph by IVm. Khiglior>i, Glasgem. 



ON THE LEFT IS THE "DRAKE" OR SUB-IMAGO OF El^HKMERA VUf.GATA, 

 AND BELOW IT IS SHOWN ITS EXUVIA, THE MAY FLY "GHOST." 

 ON THE RIGHT IS THE IMAGO OR PERFECT FORM OF EPHEMERA 

 VULGATA. 



down in the shady deeps of the troutpool 

 the "speckly one" rouses himself from 

 his late siesta — the lazy stretch, graceful 

 withal ; the back-watering, then the 

 yawn prodigious, and off he fins to the 

 edd^nng shallows — hungry, expectant. 



While he drowsed in the pool myriads 

 of ]\Iay FUes left the water to change 

 their birth robes hurriedly 'mid leaf and 

 blossom. These are the " duns " and 

 " drakes " of your enthusiastic angler. 

 Thither they went to throw off the green 

 for a lacery yet more dazzling, more 

 resplendent. By the banks, upon grass 

 stem and tree trunk, they hang their 

 filmy cloaks. We call these May Fly 

 " ghosts." Preparation for a brief hour 

 of pleasure, for the giddy dance of love 

 and death. Over the woodland stream 

 gathers a hving cloud, swirling deUriously, 



sparkling in all the transient glories of 

 gossamer wing and flowing silken tail- 

 plumes. Witness the hurried courtship ; 

 the embrace of a moment ; the separation 

 to die. The sudden agitation of the 

 water seems to prophes}^ the tragedy ; 

 splash after splash, circle following circle — 

 'tis the hungry rise of the ■• speckly one " ; 

 a rich feast, a tragic farewell ! 



The whirl subsides ; the cloud thins 

 and scatters as they hover out of hfe — 

 the May FUes of an hour ago, those that 

 escaped the sure suck of the lurking 

 trout ; those that were successful in their 

 last act in life. 



The tranquil stream is the cradle of the 

 children they never hve to see ! Such is 

 the hfe ephemeral, the maturity that 

 lasteth but an evening ! 



R. A. Staig. 



t ♦^ ♦ 



Photoi^raph by H^nt. King-hom, G/nSf^cnv, 



ON THE LEFT IS THE NYMPH OF THE MAY FLY EPHEMERA 

 VVLGAI A, AND BESIDE IT IS ITS EXUVIA OR CAST-OFF 

 SKIN. THE THREE SMALLER FORMS ARE THE FLAT 

 NYMPHS OF THE MAY FLY liMTlS. 



