42 SCHOOL ENTOMOLOGY 



quently attracted to lights in considerable numbers. 

 Nymphs may be secured by lifting flat stones from run- 

 ning streams and examining the under sides of these where 

 they will be found clinging closely. Common stoneflies 

 belong to the family Perlidoe. 



Ephemerida. The May-flies are delicate insects with 

 four wings which have finely netted veins. The front 

 wings are large and the angles are considerably produced. 

 The hind wings are small and sometimes disappear en- 

 tirely. In the adults the mouth-parts are rudimentary. 

 At the tip of the abdomen are two or three thread-like 

 tails as long as, or longer than, the entire body. The 

 nymphs are soft bodied and live on the bottoms of streams, 

 usually where the current is sluggish. The adults live 

 only a short time. They may be found along streams 

 clinging back downward to leaves and twigs and are 

 attracted in immense numbers to electric lights. Floors 

 of bridges are often covered to a depth of an inch or 

 more with these insects on warm nights in early summer. 

 They are called also Shad-flies and Day-flies. The family 

 name is Ephemeridse and both it and the order name are 

 suggested by the short life of the insect. 



Odonata. Dragon-flies and Damsel-flies. The members 

 of this order are better known than the other Pseudo- 

 Neuroptera as they fly by day and are numerous wherever 

 there is water. They have long narrow wings, finely 

 netted veined, and slender bodies. The nymphs live in 

 the water on the bottoms of ponds and in sluggish streams. 

 The Dragon-flies (Anisoptera) , are the larger members of 

 the order. Their wings are nearly the same width from 

 base to tip and they have very powerful flight. They are 

 variously called Mosquito-hawks, Snake-doctors, Snake- 

 feeders, Mule-killers and Devil's darning-needles. 



