MAY. 113 



genera feed on small insects ; others prefer vegetable food, 

 that named Zahrus being very destructive to wheat. The 

 larvae are longish, furnished with strong jaws and a forked 

 tail. 



Neukoptera. Ephemekid^. 

 EPHEMEEA. 



Generic Distinctions. — Antennce. very short, terminated by a 

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

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

 long ; winys triangular and horizontal. 



Ephemeka vulgata (Plate lY.), 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 wliiteness 

 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, ^vith an ele- 



I 



