Packard ] INSECTS OF THE POND AND STREAM. 129 
6. Insects at the Isanti and Stream. 
\ 
HISTORY of the insect inhabitants of a pond or 
stream would deal largely in the tragic. The biog¬ 
raphy of one aquatic insect from the time of its birth 
till its death, provided it completed the usual round of exis¬ 
tence allotted to its species, would be a long and perhaps 
tedious record of escapes from its enemies, of its methods 
of avoiding or repelling their attacks, while on the other 
hand the pages of its biography would be largely occupied 
with a list of those it had killed and wounded, not from the 
mere love of carnage, but from the simple necessity of main¬ 
taining its own existence. If we reflect for a moment on the 
fact that out of about one hundred eggs laid by the dragon 
fly, perhaps only one pair survive the following summer, and 
that the remaining ninety-eight young have afforded food for 
other dragon flies and insects of other species ; and then 
consider the amount of insect-food required to maintain the 
pair of dragon flies from the larval to the winged state, we 
shall be impressed with the fact that the majority of insects 
are born to serve as food for the few that survive. 
Life among the lower animals, as in human affairs, is an 
intense struggle for existence, resulting in a triumph of the 
favored few over the masses. These few perpetuate the 
qualities which gave them success, and so we have a con¬ 
stant progress upwards of life from lower to higher forms, a 
survival of those best fitted by physical and intellectual 
qualities to maintain themselves in the world. There is 
genius, or preeminence in intellectual qualities, among in¬ 
sects. Ants choose generals and master workmen, whose 
lead they follow in their wars and public works. The queen 
bee is mistress of the kingdom over whic she rules. 
9 1 
