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THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the bottom of the muddy pools which match its colour, ever 

 ready to grasp the unwary fish in the cruel embrace of its sharp 

 hooked fore-legs, there to remain fixed until life becomes extinct 

 with the outflow of its blood." This author adds, " Scarcely 

 less rapacious are the species inhabiting the United States. 

 One of these, B. grisea, is the facile master of the ponds and 

 estuaries of the tidal creeks and rivers of the Atlantic States. 

 Developing in the quiet pools, secreting itself beneath stones or 

 rubbish, it watches the approach of a Pomotis, mud-minnow, 

 frog, or other small-sized tenant of the water, when it darts with 

 sudden rapidity upon its unprepared victim, grasps the creature 

 with its strong, clasping fore-legs, plunges its deadly beak deep 

 into the flesh, and proceeds with the utmost coolness to leisurely 

 suck its blood. A copious supply of saliva is poured into 

 the wound, and no doubt aids in producing the paralysis which 

 so speedily follows its puncture in small creatures." 



That the loss of fish due to these insects is considerable 

 seems quite probable, because, notwithstanding their secluded 

 habits, they are not rarely to be seen about ponds, sometimes 

 even in the act of taking fishes. The following quotation from a 

 letter from Mr. E. A. Brackett, of Winchester, Mass., Chairman 

 of the Commissioners on Inland Fisheries for Massachusetts, 

 under date of Dec. 16th, 1886, will illustrate this fact. He 

 writes, " In October last, while drawing ofi' the Carp-pond, the 

 water became very roily, and I noticed several young Carp moving 

 on the surface, sidewise, evidently propelled by some external 

 force. With a dip-net I took these young fish out, and found 

 that in every case they were firmly held by a water-bug. The 

 fish were dead, and the bugs apparently had been feeding on 

 them. I had no means of determining how many of these 

 bugs were in the pond." 



The largest, and without doubt the most dangerous to fishes, 

 of these water-bugs, are those which belong to the family, 

 Belostomidse. It is especially of these Belostomidae that this 

 paper treats. In the north-eastern United States the common 

 forms of these bugs belong to the genera, Zaitha, Belostoma and 

 Benacus. The form of insects belonging to the genus Belostoma, 

 is elongated oval, and their considerably flattened form and large 

 size, serves to distinguish them from all the other before- 

 mentioned water-bugs, except those belonging to the genus 



