208 
LIFE AND HER CHILDREN. 
like looking insects are water-bugs, whose mouths are 
made for sucking like the land-bugs, and woe betide 
the little water-flies which come in their way. Pro- 
tected themselves from the water by a thick coating 
of plush under their bodies, they glide along silently 
and rapidly, and seizing their prey hold it in their 
Fig. 71. 
Water-Bugs. 
M, The Water-Measurer.* B, The Water-Boatman. + 
fore-legs while they suck out the juices. Thus these 
active little creatures have learnt to find food on 
the water which their land relations cannot reach, 
while a still bolder race, the water -boatmen (B, 
Fig. 71), which lay their eggs on the leaves of the 
water-plants, dive into the water carrying their air 
with them, and feed upon the tadpoles and water- 
grubs below. 
* Gerris. + Notonecta glauca. 
