278 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC INSECTS 



hundred eggs in one cluster, cylindrical with rounded 

 ends, and closely packed together. From the free 

 end of each egg a small pointed and whitish pro- 

 jection is given off. When the larvae hatch out, they 

 travel to the water, where they have to spend about a 

 year before attaining the winged state. I have often 

 seen the fresh-hatched larvae wriggling out on leaves 

 many yards from the nearest stream or pond. How 

 they find out the way, and whether or not many 

 perish from taking a wrong direction, I do not know. 

 Anglers have called this the Alder Fly, no doubt 

 because it is often found on the alders which over- 

 hang streams. In some old books it is called May 

 Fly, a name which is better suited to this Insect than 

 to EphemeridiE, w^hich emerge in various months of 

 the summer season. 



