A CHAPTER OF LIFE-HISTORIES. 8l 
mighty fore legs for holding his victims while sucking 
their life-blood (Fig. 74). 
The Mosquito. Among aquatic insects the familiar 
mosquito or gnat deserves a paragraph. The female 
mosquito, which by the way is said to do all the biting 
Fig. 72.—A Water-boatman. A , in the water; B, while flying. 
and all the singing, leaves her eggs, sometimes two 
or three hundred in number, glued together in a sort 
of raft which floats upon the water (Fig. 75). In a few 
days the tiny larvae open the under side of the eggs 
Fig. 73.— Dyticus Marginalis. A , male; B, female. 
and descend into the water, where they swim rapidly 
about with a peculiar jerking motion. The large head 
is usually downward, always so while at rest near the 
surface of its pool. Just back of the head is a large 
