88 INSECT LIFE. 



There is a pond that we love to visit when we are 

 tired with work at our desks. It is a long, narrow 

 one that winds beneath overhanging trees, and is 

 margined with a dense growth of water-plants. 

 Over this pond dragon-flies hawk at midges ; on a 

 dead tree near the bank a kingfisher has his perch, 

 from which on our approach he swoops down twirl- 

 ing his watchman's rattle ; sometimes in the swamp 

 near by we frighten up a bittern ; and in the shal- 

 lows near the shore the great blue heron loves to 

 fish, standing knee-deep in the water watching pa- 

 tiently for his victims. 



Here, too, occur large colonies of whirligig-bee- 

 tles, which chase each other round and round as if 

 at play ; water-striders skim over the surface ; the 

 marsh-treader glides on its stiltlike legs among the 

 rushes and floating leaves ; and, beneath the surface, 

 water- boatmen, back -swimmers, water - scorpions, 

 diving -beetles, and many other strange creatures 

 abound. 



We go to this pond and watch these creatures in 

 their homes and then we bring some of them to our 

 study, where we put them in aquaria, and try to 

 learn more about their ways. 



Similar ponds can be found in most country 

 places, and the following pages of this chapter are 

 written to aid others in making similar studies. 



In the studies of life histories the pupil should be 

 very careful in his observations ; it is easy to make 

 mistakes. Do not be satisfied with seeing a thing 

 once, but observe it over and over again. Make sure 

 you are right and then look again. This is the only 

 way in which good scientific work can be done, and 



