CHAPTER II 



MAYFLIES, DUNS AND SPINNERS 



The insects designated by the fly-fisherman by the 

 names comprised in the title of this chapter are all 

 members of the family of Ephemeridae. It will be 

 noted that in " Modern Development of the Dry- Fly " 

 no less than twenty-five of the thirty-three patterns in 

 the series are classified as genera and species of this 

 family. Hence no apology is needed for devoting a 

 considerable space to the description of these insects, 

 and it is obvious that they constitute the most im- 

 portant group for the dry-fly man. 



Rev. A. E. Eaton, the leading modern authority on 



this family, says of the habits 

 Rev. A. E. Eaton on of the flies that " the popular 

 habits of the flies, supposition that they are strictly 



ephemeral is fallacious in most 

 instances. It is true that the adult insect cannot eat 

 owing to atrophy of its mouth organs and to the con- 

 dition of its alimentary canal ; but provided that the 

 air be not too dry the imagines of many genera can 

 live without food several days." He goes on to 

 explain that oviposition is usually performed in fresh 

 water, and that while some species discharge the 

 contents of their ovaries en masse, the majority extrude 



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