I IO 



REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF 



water weeds or stones until it gains the air, and throws off the pupal skin. When lib- 

 erated it swims about easily, but with its back downward, and the fly escapes from the 

 floating pupa. The fly has four wings, and wings and body have a hairy appearance 

 as though fringed with short hairs as shown in Fig. 4. 



The eggs of Caddis-flies are laid in water, or on water plants, or on trees overhang- 

 ing a stream, or sometimes far from the water. They are often of green color, and are 

 laid many together in a mucilage which swells out as soon as it comes in contact with 

 water, forming a cylindrical egg rope, or in some cases a flat disc. To transfer the 

 Caddis-fly for the purpose of furnishing fish food the larvae cases, or worms, can be 

 gathered in the spring, or even the pupa cases, and placed in a bucket of water and 

 carried to the stream or pond it is desired to stock. They need not necessarily be 

 gathered in the spring unless it is hoped to have a rise of the flies the same year. The 

 cases are so abundant that when found it is an easy matter to collect them by the 

 thousands if desired for transplanting. I imagine the eggs can be transplanted as 

 successfully as the worms. The fish eat cases and all when they feed on the worms 

 in the cases, as they have no means of extracting them. 



All the fish food thus far referred to constitutes more particularly the food of fishes 

 after they have grown beyond the fry stage, although at some period of their existence 

 all of the food may serve to feed very young fish. There are smaller Crustacea than 

 the crayfish or shrimp which swarm in the waters of ponds, lakes and streams, and 

 which serve to feed young fish when they begin to take food through the mouth after 

 the umbilical sac is absorbed. 



Fig. 10. Cyclops 



Fig. 10 is one of these Crustacea, the Cyclops, and I regret that it is a very crude 

 figure of a male. The female has two attachments near the tail on either side which 

 are the egg sacs, and are easily distinguishable on close inspection. 



