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Mr. and Mrs.
KENNETH R. SHOTP

INSECT LIFE IN POND AND
STREAM

WONDERS
Of INSECT LIFE

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INSECT LIFE

IN

POND

AND

STREAM

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LONDON

HENKY -FROWDE

[HODDER & STOUGHTON

CONTENTS

:HAP.

I. LIFE IN POND AND STREAM — THE HOME
OF THE WATER INSECTS — STRANGE
CREATURES OF THE POND — THE POND
IN SPRING . . . . 7

II. WEE WATER FOLK — THE WHIRLIGIG-
BEETLE — THE LARVA OF THE WHIRLI-
GIG— WATER-BOATMEN . . ,13

III. SOME ODD INSECTS— THE WATER STICK-

INSECT — POND-SKATERS — SPRING-TAILS

— THE WATER-SCORPION . .20

IV. THE TYRANT OF THE POOL — THE BROWN

WATER-BEETLE — His CURIOUS LEGS —
How HE BREATHES — THE LARVA OF THE
BROWN WATER-BEETLE — His FEROCIOUS
WAYS . . . . .27

V. WATER-BEETLES GREAT AND SMALL — THE
GREAT WATER-BEETLE — THE LITTLE
EGG-BOAT — UGLY GRUBS — THE SMALL
WATER BEETLE . . . ,35

VI. THE DRAGON OF THE POOL — DRAGON-FLIES
— LARVA OF THE DRAGON-FLY — ITS
CURIOUS MASK — THE TRANSFORMATION
OF THE DRAGON-FLY . . .42

vi INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

CHAP. 1'AGK

VII. THE " QUICK-WINGED GNAT" — THE LITTLE
EGG-RAFT — BABY GNATS — THE TRANS-
FORMATION OF THE GNAT . . 50

VIII. FLIES AND THEIR "WATER BABIES " — THE
GHOST LARVA — THE SCORPION-FLY —
THE RAT-TAILED MAGGOT — ALDER-FLIES
— STONE-FLIES — SAND-FLIES . . 59

IX. THE WISE CADDIS-WORM — THE STRANGE
GARMENTS MADE BY THE CADDIS-WORMS
— A STRANGE PUPA — CADDIS-FLIES . 70

X. WATER HOUSES — A WATER CATERPILLAR
AND ITS HOUSE — THE WATER-SPIDER
AND HER NEST . . 78

CHAPTER I

LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

IF you have read " Water Babies " (and I
hope you have), you will remember when the
poor little sweep's boy, Tom, ran away from
his cruel master he came at last to .a bubbling
brook. And there he slipped out of his old
black skin, tumbled himself into the brook,
and sank down, down in the clear, cool
water, and turned into a Water Baby only
four inches long. Under the water Tom lived
for many a day, learning how to behave him-
self ; and he had the most wonderful adven-
tures, and met with all sorts of surprising
creatures, as he wandered along in the streams
and the river on his way down to the
sea.

Now the best part of this story is, that all
those strange creatures do really live under
the water ; and if you could follow Tom's
example and turn into a Water Baby four
inches long, you would meet just exactly the

8 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

same quaint water folk as he did, moving
about in the ponds and streams to-day.

For every winding river, every rippling
stream, and every silent pool is a complete
water-world, the home of many a strange or
interesting creature. We know, of course,
that all sorts of fishes live in fresh water,
from the lordly salmon and silver trout to
tiny minnows and sticklebacks ; water voles
make their home in the banks of the streams
and rivers, and the shy coot and moorhen
hide their nests amongst the rushes.

But there are other water-folk besides the
fishes, the birds, and the water voles. If we
look down into the water we shall see all
sorts of curious little things swimming, diving,
and bobbing about, while down at the bottom
of the pond many queer-looking creatures
are moving, creeping over the stones and mud,
and climbing about the water weeds.

There goes a strange-looking object, just
like a cigar fitted with tiny legs and a queer-
shaped head. There, a little bundle of bits
of leaves and odds and ends of stick and
straw, suddenly puts forth a round head and
six spidery legs and starts slowly marching
along. And there two sausage- shaped

LIFE IN POND AND STREAM 9

creatures, with large flat heads and hook-like
jaws, are rolling over together and biting each
other for all they are worth !

What are all these peculiar creatures ?
Insects, you say ? Yes, these funny-looking
things are water insects, — strange members
of the insect world that make their home
beneath the water. They are not a special
kind of insect ; they belong to several different
insect families, and most of them have relations
on the land which would quickly drown if they
fell into the water. Some water insects live
all their lives in ponds or streams ; others,
strange to say, spend the first part of their
lives, while they are grubs, or larvae, in the
water, and the lattei part, when they have
become perfect insects, flying about in the
air. From ugly grubs they are changed to
beautiful winged creatures, reminding us of
the enchanted frogs and toads of our fairy
tales, which became transformed into princes
and princesses.

It certainly does seem strange that many a
gauzy-winged fly, which would be drowned
almost at once if you held it beneath the
water, has lived quite safely and comfortably
there in its early days (almost as strange as

10 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

if a fish suddenly took to itself wings and flew
away as a bird), but then we must remember
that insects are very peculiar creatures, which,
as a general rule, entirely alter their way of

life after they
have gone
through their
wonderful
transforma-
tions and be-
come perfect
insects. We
know that
many insects
spend the first
part of their ex-
istence buried
in the ground,
or inside
plants, trees, or
rotten wood,

so after all it is not so very astonishing that
others should live for a while in the water.

There is hardly any kind of water in which
some insects may not be found. Fresh water,
salt water, pure water, stagnant water, hot
springs, and icy water, all have their insect

SMALL WATER-BEETLES.

LIFE IN POND AND STREAM 11

dwellers. Not very many live in salt water,
or in very great depths, but there are some
little beetles which live so low down on the
sea-shore that they are covered by the sea
every time the tide rolls in, and some strange
grubs that are perfectly at home in brine pits.
Some insects like the bustle and excitement
of running water, a few are even found in
mountain torrents and cascades ; but most of
these little creatures prefer still, or gently
rippling water ; and a quiet, rather shallow
pool, where reeds and rushes grow, and duck
weed spreads its soft green mantle over the
surface, is perhaps the best place of all to look
for these quaint and interesting little water
folk.

Almost all the year round we may find
insect life in the ponds and streams. Even
in winter, on a warm sunny day, we may see
parties of gnats disporting themselves in
sheltered nooks by the side of the water, and
although most water insects sleep the cold
days away buried in the mud at the bottom
of the pond, if we look down into the water
we are almost sure to see some that are swim-
ming about or slowly moving over the water-
weeds.

n INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

But the best time to visit the pool is in the
spring-time when all the reeds and rushes are
fresh and green, and the banks are gay with
golden kingcups, and the water iris unfurls its
yellow flags ; or later, in early summer, when
blue forget-me-nots nod their starry faces over
the water and the water- crowfoot spangles
the pool with its snowy blossoms.

For the wee insect folk love warmth and sun-
shine, and as soon as cold winter has passed
they are all astir. Every sunny day brings
out clouds of airy, gauzy- winged flies to dance
merrily round the pool — far too many to
please us indeed, for they leave their dance to
settle on our hands and faces, and announce
their arrival by sharp little stabs. Great,
glittering dragon-flies hawk backwards and
forwards over the pool, pouncing every now
and then on one of the dancing flies and carry-
ing it off in triumph. And if we look down
into the water we shall see ever so many quaint
little creatures, crawling about the weeds and
stones, swimming through the water, or lightly
skimming over the surface of the pond.

WEE WATER FOLK 13

CHAPTER II

WEE WATER FOLK

BOBBING about on the top of the water is a
tiny oval-shaped creature, about a quarter of
an inch long, dressed in a shiny, blue-black
coat. He darts about
so swiftly that it is
not easy to see what
he is like, then sud-
denly he spins round
and round in a circle,
so fast, one would
think the funny little
thing must be dread-

t 11 -JJ rrn-- • THE WHIKLIUIO BEKTLE.

fully giddy. Inis is

the little Whirligig beetle, and if you try to
catch him so that you may have a good look
at him, down he dives to the bottom of the
pool and clings with his front pair of legs to a
weed growing under the water. But he does
not care to stay long below ; his beat is at
the top of the water, so he very soon comes
up again and begins whirling round and round
as fast as ever.

14 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

Although he is so agile when at home in
the pool, the Whirligig beetle is a clumsy little
fellow on dry ground. If you take him out
of the water he flops about and shuffles along
in a most ungainly way. His legs are formed
for swimming, not for taking walking exercise.
The two hind pair of legs are perfect little
paddles — broad and flat and fringed with
long stiff hairs ; these the little beetle uses
when paddling his way through the water.
The front pair of legs are much longer, but
not so broad, and have many tiny suckers at
the tips ; with these the Whirligig clings
tightly to the water weeds when he is tired of
whirling and dashing about, and feels inclined
for a little rest.

His eyes are most surprising; you would
think at first sight that the queer little fellow
had jour eyes. For each eye is divided into
two parts, by a kind of partition, one looking
upwards and one looking down ; so he is able
to keep a sharp look-out above and below at
the same time. If a hungry fish rises to
snap at the little Whirligig he shoots rapidly
away or spins round and round to confuse
his enemy ; and if danger threatens him from
above, down he dives to the bottom of the

£

A DRAGON-FLY AT REST [See Page 49.

WEE WATER FOLK 15

pond and stays there until all is safe
again.

Although he is a water insect this little
beetle does not breathe as fishes do. He
cannot extract the oxygen from the water,
but has to obtain his supply from the air
above. So when he dives below he carries
with him a bubble of air, between the tips of
his wing cases, which glitters like a tiny ball
of quicksilver.

Although Mr Whirligig is not a good walker,
he has a fine pair of gauzy wings tucked away
under his hard, polished wing cases, and can fly
as well as any land beetle. He is not able to
spring straight out of the water, like a flying
fish, so when he feels inclined for a flight he
first climbs a little way up the stem of a water
plant, then slowly opens his wing cases,
unfurls his gauzy wings, and away he goes !

As he flies through the air the Whirligig
hums like a bee ; and before starting off on
his journey he usually makes a funny squeak-
ing noise, by rubbing the edges of his wing
cases against a hard ring on his body, to let
the other beetles know he is coming.

In the spring-time only one or two Whirligigs
are to be seen. They are last year's beetles

16 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

who have passed the winter months asleep in
the mud at the bottom of the pool. But
towards the end of summer crowds of little
Whirligigs appear, all playing their favourite
game of " here we go round the mulberry
bush " so cleverly, that however fast they
whirl they never bump into one another.

The Whirligig larva is a funny little thing,
long and very thin with an extremely tiny
head. It looks just like a centipede, for it
appears to have a leg on every -one of its body
rings. The first three pairs are true legs, but
the others are really breathing tubes or gills,
through which the little creature extracts the
oxygen from the water ; for while it is a larva
the Whirligig lives below, and does not draw
its supply of air from above, as the grown-up
beetles do.

It is a most active, and very hungry, little
animal, always chasing tiny insects and
gobbling them up ; and if another water
creature turns the tables on the little Whirligig
larva and tries to catch it, it skips and hops
about in the most surprising manner. Under
its tail the larva has four tiny hooks which
act as a spring, enabling the wee creature to
jump about with great agility.

WEE WATER FOLK 17

Towards the end of summer the larva climbs
up the stem of a plant until it is above the
water, and there it spins itself a tiny grey
cocoon, but it is so well hidden amongst the
grasses that very few have ever seen it. It
sleeps soundly for a week or two, and then the
cocoon opens and out pops a perfect little
Whirligig beetle which slips into the water
and at once begins spinning round like a top.

These little beetles like gently running
water best, but in almost every pool and
pond that is clean and clear we may find one
or two of these odd little Whirligigs.

The Water-boatman, another quaint water
insect, prefers still water, and is not at all
particular about its being clean and pure,
indeed, if possible he always chooses a stagnant
pond or even a ditch in which to make his
home.

The little Water-boatman is not much more
than half an inch long, and has the strange
habit of swimming upside down. His body
is just the shape of a boat, quite flat under-
neath and rounded like the keel of a boat on
the top ; so the boatman turns himself over on
his back, and using his long hind legs as oars,
he rows himself about with the greatest ease.

18 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

Under his wing-cases the boatman wears a

velvety coat, and quantities of tiny air bubbles

become entangled in the short, soft hairs, so

that he is entirely enclosed in a glittering film

of air. This makes the boatman so light and

buoyant that he has

much difficulty in

A keeping down under

****£* tne water. When be-

^Mj^L^ low he anchors him-

/M • Vv seW with his short,

^gHiLkfc front legs to a weed

I* ^H or a stone, and directly

/ I he lets go his hold, up

/ I he shoots, like a cork,

J to the top of the

water again.

He is a very fierce
and hungry little

THE WATEK-BOATMAX. & J

gentleman, and

attacks and devours all sorts of water crea-
tures with his short, sharp beak ; he will
even eat one of his own relations without
any ceremony. So courageous is he that he
often kills insects much larger than himself,
and should you be quick enough to catch one
of these little Water-boatmen, he will most

WEE WATER FOLK 19

probably at once stick his beak into your
hand.

Some people say that these funny little
insects make a queer little noise, which sounds
like " chew-chew-chew," by rubbing their
hands (or their front legs) together. I have
never heard this noise myself, but this may
possibly be because I have not happened to
be passing by when a little Water-boatman is
performing in this
way, and so many
insects are able to
make sounds of differ-
ent kinds that I have
no doubt this little
pond- dweller can say
" chew - chew - chew "
if he pleases. A big
Water-boatman living
in the shallow lakes of
Mexico is supposed to

., I'll THE GREAT \VATER-BOATMAN.

be even more highly

accomplished than his small British cousin,
for it is said that he can play a tune on his
snout by beating on it with his two front legs,
just as if he were beating a drum !

20 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM
CHAPTER III

SOME ODD INSECTS

IF you watch the surface of a pond very care-
fully you may often see something that looks
like a tiny bit of stick, no thicker than a
needle, floating on the water. Look closer
and you will see that this " stick " has six
legs as fine as hairs, and is not floating but
walking on the top of the pond.

This is the " Water Stick-
insect," and a very strange
insect it is to be sure. It
has a long thin head and a
long thin body, and where
one ends and the other be-
gins is really difficult to tell,
for it is just about the same
thickness all the way up.

This peculiar insect spends
A WATER STICK-INSECT. &s time creeping slowly
about on the top of the
water, on the look-out for the little dead
insects which often float on the surface of the
pond. On these the Water Stick-insect feeds,

SOME ODD INSECTS 21

though how such a very thin creature can eat
at all seems really a puzzle.

This insect is sometimes called the " Water-
measurer," because as it creeps over the
surface of the pond it looks just as if it were
measuring the
water with its
long, thin
legs.

The Pond-
skaters are
very like the
Stick - insects,
but their heads
are not quite
so long, and

they are not quite so thin. They have
exceedingly long legs though, and are much
more lively than the slow-going Water Stick-
insects. Instead of creeping slowly about,
the Pond- skaters skim along the top of the
water at a very great rate, or skip and
jump about in the most amusing manner.
They patter over the surface of the pond just
as if it was dry land, and do not even wet their
tiny feet.

How is it, do you think, that these strange

22 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

insects manage to walk so easily on the top of
the water, and never "get wet or sink down
to the bottom of the pond ?

It is because the surface of the water is al-
ways covered with a kind of elastic skin, called
the " surface-film." It is very, very thin, and
quite invisible, but it is strong enough to bear
the weight of many tiny creatures. As the
Pond- skaters run over the surface-film their
feet make little dents in it, but do not sink
through. If you watch the little insects
darting about on the top of a clear, shallow
pool when the sun is shining, you will see the
shadows of these tiny dents on the sandy
bottom of the pool.

The Pond- skaters are rather timid little
things, and although they live on other small
insects they generally content themselves with
dead ones and seldom hunt for living prey.
When they are not skating about looking for
something to eat, these funny creatures are
generally very busy brushing their legs and
cleaning themselves up, for they are most
particular, tidy insects. Their heads, their
bodies, and even their long, thin legs are closely
covered with a short velvet pile, so even if
they venture beneath the surface-film, and

SOME ODD INSECTS 23

they can, and do, dive sometimes, they never
get wet. But the Pond- skaters much prefer
skating on the top of the water, and very
seldom go below ; though one of these long-
legged water folk is sometimes seen running
upside down on the surface-film, just as a fly
walks on the ceiling. Of course he is then
right in the water, but his velvet coat keeps
him dry ; and he carries an air-bubble at the
end of his tail, so that he may breathe com-
fortably while he is below the surface.

These peaceful little insects have some near
relations which lead a far more exciting life.
They are great travellers, and are often seen
right out in mid-ocean calmly running about
on the top of the sea.

There are some other little insects, called
" Spring-tails," that live on the top of the
water, too. If these tiny things went about
singly you would probably not notice them
at all, as they are only one-twelfth of an inch
long ; but they are friendly little creatures,
fond of company, and in the summer months
they go about in large parties on ponds and
ditches, all skipping and springing about like
a lot of little sand-hoppers. They are black,
except just after they have moulted, which

24 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

they do very often, then they are quite white.
So every party of these cheerful little creatures
contains some black and some white ones.

The Spring-tail has gained its name from
the funny way it has of tucking its tail under
its body and then letting it spring back with
a sudden jerk, which sends the little insect
bouncing up into the air like a ball. It is so
small and light that it cannot possibly sink
through the surface-film, no matter how it
may hop and bound about.

When the days become cold and food is
scarce, the Spring-tails go below and bury
themselves in the mud at the bottom of the
pond ; and the only way they can manage to
get beneath the surface film is by grasping
the stems of the water weeds and regularly
pushing themselves through. They never get
wet even when right under water, for they
carry with them quantities of minute air-
bubbles entangled in the short, thick hair
with which they are covered. So each little
Spring-tail is completely enclosed in a glisten-
ing coat of air.

But I fear the water world is a dangerous
place for little Spring-tails and other wee
water-dwellers. At the top of the pools

SOME ODD INSECTS 25

many an enemy is on the watch, to snap up
small and helpless creatures, while below lurk
terrible monsters ready to clutch and devour
them directly they venture beneath the
surface. At the bottom of the pool, prowling
slowly about in search of prey, is the Water-
scorpion. An ugly-looking creature, broad
and flat, and a dull ashy-brown colour. It
appears to have only two pairs of legs, as it
holds up its front pair as a crab does its great
claws, ready to seize
any unfortunate little
animal that comes
within its reach.
These curious legs can
be folded in two like
a clasp - knife, and
when once they close
on a victim they never
let go until the poor
thing has been sucked
dry by the Scorpion's
cruel beak.

This ferocious insect is about an inch long.
It is a dingy-red colour, but its back is covered
by dull ashy-brown wing-cases ; so you cannot
see that it is red unless it turns on its back,

26 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

or opens its wing-cases and spreads its wings
to fly away. At the end of its body are two
long, hollowed spines, that fit together to make
a breathing tube which looks like a funny long

THIN WATER-SCORPIONS.

tail ; and when the insect needs a fresh supply
of air it creeps slowly backwards up the stem
of a water-weed and pushes the tip of this
queer tail above the surface of the water.

Another Water- scorpion is often to be seen
creeping over the weeds or skimming along on
the top of the water. It does not look in the
least like its cousin who lives at the bottom
of the pool, for it is as long and thin as a
Pond-skater. But both the Broad Scorpion

THE TYRANT OF THE POOL 27

and the Thin Scorpion hold up their front
legs in the same crab-like manner, and by
this peculiarity we can tell they are relations.

CHAPTER IV

THE TYRANT OF THE POOL

WHO is this fine, big fellow swimming so
quickly and strongly across the pool ? Let
all little Whirligigs and other small fry beware,
for this is the great Brown Water-beetle — the
Tyrant of the Pool.

He wears a coat of chestnut brown, so dark
as to look almost black in the water, bordered
with a narrow yellow line, and his wrists are
adorned with a fine pair of frills.

A mighty hunter is the Brown Water-
beetle, feared by all the dwellers in the pool,
who flee in terror from before him. And small
wonder they do, for this beetle is so fierce
and strong that few can escape him. He is
over an inch long, and is armed with a strong
pair of toothed jaws with which he is always
ready to attack any creature that comes in
his way, while he himself is so well protected

28 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

by his hard, armoured coat that he is not
afraid of anyone who lives in the pool, however
big they may be.

This fierce beetle is really a most accom-
plished person ; he can walk, climb, swim and
fly with the greatest ease. His legs are really
remarkable, each pair
being entirely different
from the others. On
his front pair of legs the
beetle has curious frills
covered with tiny
suckers, these are used
for clasping and hold-
ing fast many a slippery
victim. The second
pair are long and end
in strong hooked claws ;
with these Mr Beetle
walks about, or climbs

up the plants growing in the pool. The third
pair are broad and flat, and fringed all round
with stout hairs, and these serve the beetle as
oars with which to row himself swiftly about
in the water. Mrs Brown has no frills on her
wrists, and her wing-cases are furrowed instead
of being smooth and polished, so you might

FRONT LEG OF BROWN
WA'IER-BEETLE.

THE TYRANT OF THE POOL 29

easily imagine she was a different kind of
beetle.

Nothing is safe from this Tyrant of the Pool.
He attacks insects, tadpoles, newts, snails,
worms and little fishes. He is a cannibal, too,
and thinks nothing of making a meal of one
of his own relations ; two Brown Beetles will
sometimes have a terrific fight, and when the
weaker of the two is killed the victor will
proceed to eat him.

When he has done as much mischief as he
can in one pool, the Brown Water-beetle will
come out of the water and fly off to another
one. He chooses the evening time for his
flight, climbs up the stem of a tall water plant,
unfurls his gauzy wings, and starts off in quest
of fresh hunting-ground. Sometimes, how-
ever, the beetle comes to grief on these ex-
peditions, for he is not always careful to look
where he is going, and he has been known to
mistake the glass roof of a green house for
a pool of water and comes hustling down on
the top of it with a tremendous thud ! He
must be very much surprised, I should think,
to find the water so hard. Perhaps he thinks
winter has come and the " pond " is frozen
over.

30 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

This great, strong beetle is a wary fellow,
and if he sees you are watching him he will
dive to the bottom, of the pool at once, and
there he will stay, clinging tightly to the weeds,
or fixed by his suckers to a stone, until he
thinks all danger has passed. He does not
care to stay too long
below, indeed he could
not live altogether
under the water, for
he breathes in true
insect fashion through
breathing pores (or
spiracles) placed down
each side of his body,
protected from the
water by his tightly-
fitting wing cases, and
cannot draw his sup-
ply of oxygen from
the water as fishes and most water creatures
do.

So when Mr Beetle dives below or swims
through the water he always carries a little
store of air about with him in a water-tight
compartment between his back and his wing
case. The wing cases curve slightly, and fit

SECOND LhU t»' KKOWN
WATER 15EETLE.

THE TYRANT OF THE POOL 31

very closely together, keeping the air in and
the water out.

When the oxygen in his little air-tanks
becomes exhausted, the beetle rises to the
surface, sticks his tail out of the water, and
takes in a fresh supply. He opens his wing
cases a little way, and
the air clings to his
hairy coat, forming a
large, flat bubble on his
back. Then when he
has filled his tank, he
closes his wing cases and
darts away, feeling much
refreshed.

In his early days this
Brown beetle is just as
much a tyrant of the
pool as when he is a
grown-up perfect insect — and an ugly, ill-
conditioned young grub he is to be sure.
When full grown he is over two inches long
and a dirty-looking, yellowish-brown colour.
His body is long and clumsy, thick in the
middle, but tapering towards the head and tail.
His head is large and flat and almost round
in shape, and is joined to his shoulders by a

,

1111KL) LE(; OF BROWN
WATER-BEETLE.

32 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

short neck, so that he can twist it about in
all directions. This ugly grub is a perfect
terror to the more peaceful dwellers in the
pool, for his head is armed with a most formid-
able pair of jaws, long and curved and pointed
at the tips, and he is always ready to use them,
too, on any unfortunate creature he can catch
unawares.

Nothing in the pool is safe from this cruel,
Brown beetle grub. He goes about killing and
devouring every small creature that comes in
his way. He clutches the water insects with
his hooked feet, and sucks their blood through
the tips of his hollow jaws ; he pulls the snails
from their shells ; drags the worms from the
mud ; and sticks his fangs into the pretty
little stickleback as they go merrily swimming
by. He is a quarrelsome fellow, too, and
should he meet with one of his own relations
he at once begins a fight, and the two ugly
grubs struggle and roll about together, biting
and tearing each other with their jaws until
one is killed ; and then the victor calmly eats
his conquered opponent !

Sometimes this beetle grub swims lazily
about in the water, rowing itself slowly along
with its six little fringed legs, but all the while

THE TYRANT OF THE POOL 33

it is keeping a sharp look-out for prey. As
soon as it spies a victim the grub springs
through the water, curving its body like a
snake. At other times it creeps about on the
floor of the pool, or lurks amongst the thickets
of weeds and grasses beneath the water, like
a tiger in its lair, pouncing out and seizing
any little animal that passes by.

At intervals the grub comes up to the top
of the water to take in a fresh supply of air.
At the end of its tail it carries two breathing
tabes which it pushes above the surface-film
when it wants to breathe. The grub is lighter
than the water, so when it wishes to come up
to the top it has only to release its hold on
the weeds, or stop swimming, and it floats to
the surface, tail first.

But at last the Tyrant gives up its wicked
ways and rests for a time as a pupa. It crawls
out of the water and buries itself in the soft
mud at the edge of the pool. If it is summer-
time its sleep lasts only for a fortnight or so ;
but if it is late in the autumn the larva buries
itself more deeply in the bank and rests
quietly in its little cave all through the cold
weather, and does not turn to a pupa until
the following spring. Then in a week or two

34 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

its change is complete, and the Brown Water-
beetle creeps forth from its underground cell.

Now for a few days our friend must be very
cautious. He must hide himself carefully
amongst the weeds and grasses. For when he
first creeps out from the bank he is very feeble ;
his coat is pale and quite soft, and if any
prowling creature finds him it may take its
revenge on the tyrannical beetle, who is much
too weak to defend himself. But after a
week has passed the beetle regains his strength,
his coat darkens, and gradually grows hard
and polished. So our beetle grows fearless,
and comes boldly forth from his hiding-place
— ready once more to be the Tyrant of the
pool.

The Brown Water-beetle may live for two
or three years if no accident befalls him. In
the winter he goes to sleep buried in the mud
at the bottom of the pool, but he wakes up
sometimes when the weather is mild and takes
a little exercise swimming round the pool.

I should advise you to be careful how you
handle a Brown Water-beetle, for when it
finds itself captured it will often spurt out an
evil- smelling, milky fluid from behind its
head. The little. Whirligig beetle behaves in

WATER BEETLES 35

much, the same unpleasant way, jerking out a
milky fluid (which has a scent that reminds one
of Cockroaches) from nearly all its joints
directly it is seized.

CHAPTER V

WATER BEETLES GREAT AND SMALL

IN many a weed-grown shallow pool we
may find the " Great Water-beetle." He is a
splendid fellow, dressed in a dark olive-green
coat, marked with faint lines and dots, and is
not far short of two inches long — nearly as
big as the Stag beetle, which is the largest
beetle we have in England.

Although he is much the larger of the two,
the Great Water-beetle is no match for the
Tyrant of the pool, who often attacks and
kills his great neighbour. For in spite of his
great size the Great Water-beetle is a peaceful
and rather slow-going creature, with very
little power of defending himself against the
onslaught of the savage monsters of the pool.
He swims slowly along in a jerky way through
the water, for his legs are not particularly

36 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

powerful, or rests clinging tightly to the water
plants.

In fact, the Great Water-beetle is just a
placid, mild-tempered giant. He does not

\

THE GREAT WATER-BEETLE.

want to fight, or hunt the smaller dwellers of
the pool, but is content with a vegetable diet
of leaves and grasses — only occasionally
snatching a passing insect by way of a change.
He behaves quite differently from the Brown
Water-beetle when he comes to the surface for
a fresh supply of air. The Great Water-

WATER BEETLES 37

beetle rises head first, and instead of sticking
liis tail out of the water he turns over on one
side and slightly bends his head to open a
little cleft between his head and shoulders ; at
the same time he curves one of his feelers
backwards to form a little funnel through
which the air is sucked down. Soon the under
surface of the beetle is covered with a film of
air which glistens like silver in the water, and
he carries this with him so that he may breathe
comfortably when he dives below.

Although the Great Water-beetle is not a
very strong swimmer, he has a fine pair of
wings folded under his wing cases and is able
to fly very well, and at night he often leaves
the pool and takes a little exercise in the open
air.

Although Mr Great Water-beetle is not a
particularly interesting insect, Mrs Beetle is
most clever and industrious, and she makes a
really beautiful little water-tight cocoon in
which to place her eggs, so that they may ride
safely on the water until the baby grubs hatch
out.

When ready to begin her work Mother
Beetle rises to the top of the pool, turns over
on her back and clings with her hind legs to

38 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

some floating weed. Then she begins to spin
a fine silken thread with a little spinning
machine, called a spinneret, which she has at
the end of her body, just as a spider has. With
this silk Mother Beetle gradually weaves her
little cocoon, carefully pressing and shaping
it with her fore-legs as it grows.

She works away steadily for some time, but
at last the tiny silken bag is finished, and in
it she places about fifty or sixty little pointed
eggs. When this is done Mother Beetle care-
fully closes the mouth of the bag, weaving the
ends firmly together with silk, for it is most
important that the precious eggs shall not get
wet, and the cocoon is so strongly and beauti-
fully made that no water can get inside. It
is filled, too, with air, and floats on the top of
the water like a little boat.

But Mother Beetle has not quite finished her
work yet : as a finishing touch she adds a tiny
mast or funnel to the little boat, which stands
upright at one end. Some beetles anchor their
cocoons to the water- weeds with a silken rope,
but others let them float away and drift here
and there on the top of the water.

The tiny boat floats on the water for two or
three weeks ; it is so well balanced that it never

WATER BEETLES 39

capsizes ; and then the little larvae hatch and
make their escape into the water.

Now wouldn't you 'think the children of these
peaceful Water-beetles would be gentle, well-
behaved little grubs ? But, oh dear no !
They are just as wicked as they can be, and are
almost as much dreaded by the inhabitants
of the pool as the bold, fierce larva of the
Brown Water-beetle. They are not content
to browse quietly on the water weeds as their
parents do, but kill and devour all the little
water-folk they can manage to catch ; and if
the supply of food is not very plentiful, they
think nothing of eating each other !

They are ugly-looking things too. When
first they leave their little boat they are
mouse-coloured, and of course very tiny ; but,
strange to say, before they have taken any
food, these odd little grubs at once puff
themselves out until they are three or four
times as big as when they popped out of
their egg cases. When full grown they are
great fat things, quite three inches long, with
thick, soft, soot-coloured bodies, but their
heads and shoulders are hard and a shiny
reddish-brown. Whether they are resting or
creeping over the floor of the pool, these ugly

40 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

grubs have a funny way of turning up their
heads and their tails ; and by this strange
habit you may always know the larvae of
the Great Water-beetle.

In the spring-time and early summer in
nearly every shallow pool, covered with a soft
green carpet of duckweed, we are sure to find
numbers of the " Small Water-beetle " cling-
ing to the weeds or darting swiftly about in
the water.

They are rather pretty little beetles, no
more than a quarter of an inch long, dressed
in suits of glossy black ; but as they carry a
film of air spread over the underside of their
bodies, just as the Great Water-beetles do,
the little creatures look like silvery bubbles
dancing in the water, as they dart backwards
and forwards across the pool. Every now and
then one of the little beetles will rise to the
surface, turn over on its back, and let its air-
bubble burst ; then, after resting upside down
for a minute or so drinking in the air, down it
plunges below again, taking a newly formed
air-bubble along with it.

The Small Water-beetle also makes a little
cocoon to hold her eggs, but she does not add
a little mast to it as the Great Water-beetle

WATER BEETLES 41

does. If we visit the pools in April, and again
about the end of August, we shall most likely
find numbers of these tiny, white, silken cases
fastened to the weeds or floating on the top
of the water.

The grubs which come from the eggs in the
cocoons are quaint little beings, with large
heads and great big jaws. They seem always
to be in a state of great excitement, and wriggle
about and snap their jaws at every tiny
creature that moves in the water. These
little grubs are generally found in quite shallow
pools, where they can easily push their tails
above the water, for, like the grubs of the
larger beetles, the little things breathe through
their tails. If they happen to tumble into
deep water they hang from the surface, head
downwards, drinking in the air from a little
cup at the end of their tails all the time. And
while they hang suspended in the water they
wriggle and twist and bend themselves this
way and that way, trying to catch other wee
water folk as they go floating by.

At other times the grubs of the Small Water-
beetle may be seen crawling about the bottom
of the pool with large air-bubbles on the end
of their tails ; but if the water should be too

42 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

deep the little things have great difficulty in
coming up to the surface to breathe ; then,
in spite of being Water insects, as soon as
their air-bubbles become exhausted these
funny little grubs will drown.

CHAPTER VI

THE DRAGON OF THE POOL

IF we visit a pool or a rippling stream on a
hot summer's day, we are sure to find many
little insect folk flitting about, rejoicing in the
warmth and brightness of the sun. Gay
butterflies and dainty little moths come down
to visit the water's edge, fluttering amongst
the flowering rushes, the meadow-sweet, the
willow-herb, and all the other water-loving
plants that grow together on the banks.
Bright little beetles climb about the grasses,
and gauzy-winged flies without number dart
and whirl about overhead and skim lightly
over the surface of the water below.

Of all the bright and graceful insects that
haunt the water- side none are more brilliant
and splendid than the Dragon-flies. Glorious

THE DRAGON OF THE POOL 43

creatures they are, with their long glittering
bodies, huge shining eyes, and graceful wings.

These beautiful insects are not all alike.
Some are dainty creatures with long, slender
bodies, hardly thicker than a darning needle,
and dusky wings clouded with blue. Some have
deep blue wings, others purple ; and some have
clear, transparent wings that gleam in the
sunshine with flashing rainbow tints. Other
Dragon -flies have broader bodies and soft
brown or yellow wings ; and some are great,
long fellows glittering in green and gold — but
all are handsome insects, delightful to watch
as they dart over the water, rising, falling,
wheeling and turning with the most wonderful
ease and swiftness.

You will only see the Dragon-flies about
when the sun is shining; on dull days they hide
themselves away. Even a dark cloud passing
over the sky will send them all to shelter
amongst the reeds and rushes and the bushes
near by ; and there they rest, so still, that in
spite of their bright colours it is difficult to
see them, and they will not venture forth
until the sun shows his face again.

Wherever there is water you may see some
of these bright Dragon-flies, though they are

44 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

not, of course, so plentiful as flies and gnats
or even butterflies and moths. They haunt
the streams, the pools and the banks of rivers,
and the meadows, lanes, and woodland glades
near by.

Some people are afraid of Dragon-flies, and
country folk often call them " Horse-stingers."
But this is a foolish name to give these lovely
insects, as they do not sting horses or any-
thing else. They have no sting, and are really
perfectly harmless, although some of the big
fellows certainly do look rather alarming, as
they swoop through the air ; and I heard of a
small boy once, who seeing, for the first time,
some great green Dragon-flies darting round a
pond, ran home in great excitement, and said
he had seen some flying serpents !

But although we may call them harmless,
the insect folk, if they could speak, would
have a very different tale to tell, for these
great insects are the dragons of the insect
world. They are mighty hunters, and seem
to delight in chasing and killing all kinds of
helpless insects, even when they are not
hungry, for they capture many more than they
can possibly need for food. They pounce
fiercely upon flies, moths, and butterflies,

THE DRAGON OF THE POOL 45

seize them, and, without pausing in their
flight, bite and tear off the wings and legs
of their unfortunate victims.

The Dragon-flies we most often see are the
Green Dragon-flies — huge fellows, with green

THE DRAGON OF THE POOL.

and yellow body and clear, gauzy wings.
They fly singly, and each one seems to have
its own private hunting-ground, over which
it hawks backwards and forwards continually.
It will haunt the same pond or lane or meadow
for weeks together, and often chooses a par-
ticular bush or clump of rushes as " home,"
coming back to it again and again after each
hunting expedition, sometimes even clinging

46 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

to the very same leaf every time it returns
to rest.

But the Dragon-fly has not always been so
bright and graceful. In his youthful days (as
is so often the case in the insect world) he
was anything but handsome. Indeed, he was
a most ugly creature, with a dark brown body
shaped something like a cigar, a large flat
head, great dull eyes, and a pair of wicked-
looking jaws ; and instead of passing his
time flying about in the sunshine he spent
his day in the dim light at the bottom of the
pool.

The larva of the Dragon-fly is a clumsy
creature ; he cannot move about at all quickly
or gracefully — though now and again he may
dart suddenly forward, in short, quick spurts,
by shooting out a jet of water from his tail.
He plods along slowly but steadily, twisting
his ungainly body over the floor of the pool,
or swims lazily through the water by sway-
ing himself from side to side, and he spends
hours together clinging to the stems of the
water weeds.

But if he is not very nimble, the Dragon of
the pool is cunning. He may be slow, but he
is sure ; and he knows how to catch his dinner

THE DRAGON OF THE POOL 47

without the trouble of hunting his prey.
Tucked away underneath his chin the Dragon
has a most extraordinary lip, called a mask,
which is a perfect trap for catching unwary
insects. It is something like an enormous
hand, with a pair of pincers instead of fingers,
on the end of a long jointed arm. The arm
is hinged, and when the dragon is at rest
or prowling about the pond, the mask is
folded back beneath him and cannot be seen ;
but the moment a heedless little creature
passes within reach, out it shoots like a great
paw, and the poor little thing finds itself
seized by the pincers and carried to the jaws
of the hungry monster !

Few creatures are sharp enough to see this
terrible dragon as he lurks, motionless,
amongst the weeds ; for his dull-brown
colouring blends so well with the mud and
the plants at the bottom of the pond that
while he is still he is almost invisible. So the
poor little water folk come gaily swimming
by, and do not discover the lurking monster
until it is too late.

This strange larva never becomes a resting
pupa, or chrysalis, as most insects do, but all
the while it lives beneath the water it is

48 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

gradually changing under its ugly husk and
getting ready for its wonderful transformation.
Several times it casts its skin, and after each
moult the larva is slightly altered in appear-
ance. In time, marks like tiny wing cases
appear upon its back, showing that under
its dull skin the glorious wings are forming,
and when these wing marks are seen the
larva is called a " nymph," though this seems
a strange name to give to such an ugly
creature. But although it may alter in
appearance it does not alter in ways. It
keeps its horrid mask and is still the dragon
of the pool, catching and devouring all who
come within reach of its terrible pincers.

At last the time draws near when the dragon
must leave his' watery home. He grows
restless, and climbs up the water weeds to
have a look round at the world above the pool.
Two or three times he may do this, as if he
could not quite make up his mind to leave
his old home, but at length he takes courage
and crawls right out of the water.

Clinging tightly with his legs to the stem
of some plant growing near the water's edge,
the ugly Dragon rests for a while perfectly
still. Then his great dull eyes begin to glow

A GROUP OF DRAGON-FLIES

THE DRAGON OP THE POOL 49

with light and his dingy skin cracks down the
back. Gradually the shoulders, the head, and
the legs of the insect are pushed through the
crack, and then with a final effort the long
hind body is drawn from, the old skin and the
Dragon-fly is free.

But he looks very unlike the gorgeous,
glittering insect we expected to see. Pale,
limp, and crumpled, he hangs from the plant
almost as if he were dead.

But wait ! As he rests the Dragon-fly is
gaining strength. As the sun shines upon him,
the crumpled wings unfold, all the beautiful
colours gradually appear, and soon he clings
to the plant in all his splendour. For a little
while longer he rests, while his lovely wings
grow dry and firm. Then, like a flash of light,
he darts aloft — the Dragon-fly has gone !

" To-day I saw the dragon-fly
Come from the wells where he did lie.

An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk, from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.

He dried his wings : like gauze they grew ;
Thro' crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew."

50 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM
CHAPTER VII

THE " QUICK- WINGED GNAT "

IF we happen to be up with the lark on a fine
summer's day, before the sun looks over the
edge of the world to say " good morning."
and run out in the cool grey dawn, over the
field and down the lane, we shall find that
we are not the only early risers. Faint
rustling sounds in the grass and in the hedge-
row tell us that wee, wild beasties are already
abroad ; sleepy chirps from the tree-tops
show that the birds are waking, and soon
will all be shouting together their joyous,
morning song.

The insect folk too are astir. Down by the
pond at the end of the lane a faint, shrill,
piping note is heard as the Grey Gnat comes
flying down to the water.

" Ping, ping ! " she cries, as lightly and
daintily she alights upon the water and rests
there securely without even wetting her
slender feet, which make but the tiniest
dimples in the surface-film.

What is the Grey Gnat doing so early in the

THE " QUICK-WINGED GNAT " 51

morning ? She is intent on business. Before
the sun is well up she means to lay two or
three hundred eggs, so she has no time to lose.

Quickly she proceeds to pop her tiny eggs,
one by one, upon the water, carefully glueing
them together ; and soon she holds between
her slender legs a little mass of eggs shaped
like a tiny boat. Then, her work done, with
a joyous " ping ! " she darts up into the air
again to spend the rest of the summer's day
in merry dancing.

The little egg-raft is left floating on the
water. It is water-proof, and so well shaped
that it cannot sink. Each tiny egg is pointed
at the top and provided at the lower end with
a lid, like a little trap- door through which the
baby Gnats will escape as soon as they are
ready to pop out into the water.

The little egg-raft floats on the pond all
day, but early next morning one after another
the little lids are pushed open and the wee
Gnat babies leave their tiny boat.

These children are not in the least like
Mother Gnat, but this does not surprise us, for
we know this is the rule in the insect world. At
first they are so very small that one can hardly
see them at all ; but if you could look at these

52 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

Gnat babies through a magnifying glass you
would see a number of queer little creatures,
with long, slender bodies, very big heads, and
forked tails. They
have no legs at all,
>, but round their

^•r heads are a number

^kt of stiff bristles stick-

ing straight out like
W whiskers, and with

M these the funny

m little insects are con-

tinually sweeping
the water.

These odd little
Gnat babies spend
most of their time
hanging by their

A BABY GNAT. , . , « , -.

tails irom the

surface-film on the top of the water, all
crowded together as close as can be. But if a
shadow passes overhead, down they dive
below, and begin plunging and wriggling and
darting about in the wildest state of excite-
ment. They soon come up again though,
tail first, and hang themselves from the top
of the water as before.

THE " QUICK- WINGED GNAT" 53

You may think it sounds strange to say
the little creatures hang themselves from the
water, but this is really exactly what they do.
Although they are so small the baby Gnats
are heavier than the water, and would sink to
the bottom of the pond if they could not
fasten themselves to the top in some way.
But one branch of the forked tail, with which
each little larva is provided, is really a breath-
ing tube ending in five tiny flaps. These flaps
can be closed, making a pointed tip to the
tube, or opened so that they spread out and
form a tiny cup.

When the great gnat comes up to the top
of the water, it pushes the pointed tip of its
breathing tube through the surface-film and
opens the little cup, which at once becomes
filled with air, and rests lightly on the surface
like a buoy, and supports the little creature
as it hangs head downwards in the water.
When it dives below the larva closes the flaps,
shutting in a bubble of air which it uses for
breathing while it stays beneath the surface.

The baby Gnats grow very fast, and if all
goes well, and there is plenty of food for them
in the pond, in about ten days' time they are
full grown. One might well wonder what

54 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

such tiny things can find to eat. They never
appear to catch anything, although as they
hang upside down from, the top of the pond
they are always wriggling and twisting about
like a lot of little acrobats, and lashing the
water with their funny whiskers.

Now really, as they are going through all
these antics, the greedy little things are feeding
all the time, but the things they eat are much
too small for our eyes to see. As they sway
and bend about, their lashing whiskers make
tiny currents in the water, and sweep the
invisible atoms with which the pond is swarm-
ing into their tiny mouths. For the children
of the Grey Gnat do not live in clear, pure
water, but in stagnant ponds and ditches
where there is always plenty of food for them
to eat.

As they are growing, the Gnat larvae
moult several times, as most young insects
do, and each time they wriggle out of their
skins they are a little bit bigger than they
were before. The last time they go through
this performance, not only do they change
their skins, but they change themselves too
— the larvae disappear, and in their place
are strange-looking objects, with very small

THE " QUICK-WINGED GNAT " 55

bodies, and what look like very large heads
enclosed in a kind of diver's helmet.

I expect that you will guess that the baby
Gnats have now turned to pupae. This is
true, but they do not behave in the usual

A BABY ONAT AFTER IT HAS CHANGED
INTO A PUPA.

way. Instead of quietly resting while their
final change is taking place, the Gnat pupae
wriggle about just as much as ever. They
dive below, plunge about, and paddle them-
selves along with two little paddles at the end
of their tails. They are just as active as ever,

56 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

but they are no longer able to feed ; for their
great, big helmets are tightly closed, and it is
quite impossible for them to eat anything.

They rise to the top of the water, head first
now, instead of tail first, for the young Gnats
no longer breathe through their tails. Instead
of little breathing cups they have two little
trumpet- shaped tubes on the back of their
helmets, and these are pushed through the
surface-film to take in the air.

And now the time is drawing near when the
strange children of the Grey Gnat are to make
their last wondrous change. Not only will
they change in form, but their lives will be
altered too. They must leave the dark pond
in which they have passed their early days,
and rise like winged fairies into the air and
sunshine.

Inside the curious helmet, which each little
creature wears, the gauzy wings, the head,
and the slender legs of the gnat are growing ;
and as soon as the transformation is complete
the ugly pupa rises for the last time to the
top of the water.

Slowly the helmet is pushed above the
surface. The air dries the skin, it cracks, and
through the rent the dainty Gnat gradually

THE " QUICK- WINGED GNAT " 57

pushes its way and stands lightly poised in its
old pupa skin : —

" The quick-winged Gnat doth make a boat
Of his old house wherewith to float,
To a new life."

But take care, little Gnat! This is a
dangerous adventure. Should a puff of wind

HEAD OF MALE GNAT, SHOWING PLUMED ANTENNA
AND HARMLESS TRUNK.

upset the frail boat, you will never rise and
dance in the sunshine. No longer are you
a water baby, and if you slip you will surely
drown, or be snapped up by some prowling
monster of the pool.

But if no such sad fate overtakes it, the
new Gnat shakes the folds from its wings, rubs

58 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

its face and its legs, and smooths itself care-
fully all over, and before many minutes have
passed it is ready to fly. Then with a flit of
its wings and an excited " ping ! " it darts

HEAD OF FEMALE GNAT, SHOWING SIMPLE ANTENNA
AND PIERCING LANCETS.

aloft to join its brothers and sisters in their
merry dance.

The Gnats as they leave the water are
not all alike. Some have beautiful, feathery
antennae, others only simple threads. It is
the male Gnats who wear the plumes ; they are
quite harmless insects, as their mouths are not

FLIES AND THEIR WATER BABIES 59

formed for biting, and they live on the juices
of the flowers.

But their sisters, who have the thread-like
antennae, are not so harmless. They are
armed with a set of piercing lancets and a
sucking tube, and they are fond of sticking
their lancets into your skin and sucking your
blood. The Grey Gnat is really a mosquito,
and her bite is very painful, but she is not so
harmful as her relations who live beyond the
seas.

CHAPTER VIII

FLIES AND THEIR WATER BABIES

NOT all the baby Gnats that pop out from
the little trap-doors in the egg-raft into the
water live to become graceful two-winged flies
like Mother Gnat. As might be expected,
quantities of the tiny things fall victims to
the hungry monsters of the pool. Not only
do the water beetles and all the ugly grubs
that live below the surface snap them up
whenever they have the chance, but the larva
of a fly, very much like the Gnats themselves,
devours the poor things too.

60 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

This cannibal larva is called the " Ghost
larva," because it is so thin and transparent
that you can see right through it. This is most
convenient for the Ghost larva, as the tiny
creatures of the pool often blunder right into
the savage thing, never noticing it is there,
as it rests quite still suspended in the water.

It is a most peculiar-looking " ghost." Its
shadowy body is long and thin and measures
about two-thirds of an inch from head to tail.
It has a very large head, two great bulging
eyes, a beak like a parrot's, and jaws like a
pair of skinny hands with four or five crooked
finger-like teeth, ready to clutch all tiny
creatures that come within reach ; and to
make matters worse, this strange insect has a
most extraordinary pair of antennae ending in
bunches of stiff bristles, which curve downward
in front of its head and can be used to seize
and hold its prey. Altogether the Ghost
larva is a regular nightmare sort of creature ;
and really, when this appalling object looms
suddenly upon the poor little water folk, I am
sure it is enough to frighten them into fits,
it is so ugly and terrifying. The Ghost larva
has one beauty, however ; it is graced with a
really splendid tail, which spreads out like an

FLIES AND THEIR WATER BABIES 61

open feather fan ; but I fear the tiny water
creatures who come within reach of the
dreadful-looking creature have no time to
admire its tail before they are seized and
crushed in its horrid jaws.

There are ever so many flies of different
kinds always to be seen flitting and buzzing
about near the water whenever the days are
bright and sunny. Some of them have spent
the first part of their lives beneath the water,
but others, although they love to haunt the
banks of ponds and streams and the low-
lying meadows round about, are not true
water insects.

The quaint-looking Scorpion-fly loves moist,
marshy ground, and is often found near the
water- side. But it lives as a larva in the soft
mud on the banks of the pools and not below
the surface.

You may know the Scorpion-fly by its turned-
up tail and its curious beak, which looks like
a long, false nose. It is quite a harmless
insect, although many people think it stings,
as its turned-up tail gives it rather a threaten-
ing air. It is a four- winged fly, and its gauzy
wings are spotted and splashed with brown.

The great Drone-fly, however, that looks so

62 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

like a bumble bee, was once upon. a time a
water baby — and a very strange one too

The larva of the Drone-fly is called the
" Rat-tailed maggot." It is found in quite
shallow, muddy pools and ditches. In shape,
this strange little larva is very much like a
small roly-poly pudding, with a very long,
thin tail, and as it is almost as clear and
transparent as glass, it is not at all easy to
find it. It generally rests or creeps about
on the mud at the bottom of the pool, with
its funny tail sticking straight up, so that
the tip, through which it breathes, is just
above the water.

It is the most surprising tail in the world ;
it consists of two tubes, fitting one within the
other like a telescope, and it alters in length
according to the depth of the pool in which the
little Rat-tailed maggot is living. If the pool
is two inches deep the tail will be two inches
long — a most astonishing length for a little
creature not much more than half an inch
long. But should rain fall, and the pool
grow deeper, this obliging tail grows longer
still to meet the case. Three, four, five, even
five and a half inches this remarkable tail will
stretch, but then it seems to have reached its

FLIES AND THEIR WATER BABIES 63

limit, for if the water rises to six inches the
little roly-poly larva is forced to float up from
the bottom or crawl up the side of the pool,
but at all costs it continues to keep the end
of its tail in the air !

Resting on the alder-trees on the banks of
ponds and slowly moving streams we may
often see quantities of
little Alder-flies. They
are dark-coloured flies,
with four long brown- t**mK

ish wings and humped
backs, and in some
parts of the country
people call them
"Hump-backed flies."
In spite of their strong
wings the Alder-flies are very poor fliers, and
if you try to catch them will often run away
instead of taking wing.

The Mother Alder-fly puts her tiny stone-
coloured eggs in little clusters on the grass and
rushes, or sometimes on stones near the water's
edge, and directly the larvas are hatched they
wriggle their way down to the water. Mother
Alder-fly is not always as thoughtful as she
should be, and sometimes carelessly puts her

THE ALDER FLY.

64 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

eggs some little distance away from the water ;
but no matter how far off they may be, the
little creatures start off for the pond the
moment they appear in the world. Whether
or no they ever take the wrong direction and
lose their way I am not able to tell you, but
the chances are that most of the funny little
things, after much wriggling, find themselves
safely in the water.

For a whole year the children of the Alder-
fly live in the water. Then they crawl out
of the pond and take another overland
journey. Sometimes one of these strange
little creatures will travel five or six yards,
and even climb over a fence before it finds
what it considers a safe and comfortable
resting-place, which seems a surprisingly long
walk for a little insect hardly an inch long to
take ; then, when it is tired of wandering, the
larva scoops out a little bedroom for itself
in the soil, and goes to sleep until it has
changed to an Alder-fly.

The pretty, graceful May-flies that appear
suddenly in immense swarms, to dance gaily
over the ponds and streams for a few short
hours, have come floating up from the water
where they lived as little crawling creatures

THE NEST OF THE WATER-SPIDER

[See Page 82.

WATER FLIES : SCORPION FLY, MAY FLY, CADDIS FLY AND
STONE FLY

FLIES AND THEIR WATER BABIES 65

amongst the stones and weeds. Strange to
say, although May-flies take two, or sometimes
three years to grow up, their winged life lasts
only for a few hours. Although they are
called " May-flies " these graceful little insects
may be seen at times all through the summer.
They rise from the water towards sunset, and
spend their short life dancing gaily in the air,
often round and round some tall tree — nearly
all die before the morning. For although
next day, as the sun sinks to rest, May-flies
are again seen merrily dancing round the
very same tree, they are not the same flies,
but a new dancing party that has risen from
the water.

The pretty May -flies go through one more
change in their lives than most insects.
Directly they quit the water they cast a
second, very thin and delicate skin. Quanti-
ties of these little over-coats are often seen
hanging on the trees and grasses round about
the pond, and are sometimes called " May-fly
ghosts."

Most water insects like quiet pools best,
and are not at all particular about the water
being clean. Indeed, many prefer stagnant
water, for there they are sure of finding plenty

66 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

to eat. There are others, however, that choose
to make their homes in clear, running water ;
and on the borders of a merry bubbling brook,
where blue forget-me-not and cool green
water-cress are growing we may often see the
slow-winged Stone-flies.

They are heavy insects, with four brown
gauzy wings and two curious little tails behind.
They fly low over the ground, whizzing along
almost in a straight line, and it is quite easy
to catch them.

The larvae of the Stone-flies are often
called " Creepers ; " they live in the brook,
and if you lift a fair- sized stone from the
water most likely two or three little creatures,
like small, dusky shrimps, will scuttle from
beneath it, and try to hide themselves under
another stone as quickly as they can.

The Creeper does not change to a resting pupa,
but when it is ready for its transformation
leaves the water and fixes itself by its hooked
feet to a stone. Its old skin begins to swell,
then suddenly it splits down the back and out
comes the fly. Sometimes in early summer you
may see what seems to be a number of Stone-
fly Creepers resting on the stones that border
the brook ; but when you touch them you will

FLIES AND THEIR WATER BABIES 67

find they are only the dry, empty skins from
which the flies have escaped.

The larvae of the Sand-flies like briskly run-
ning water, and are often found in little rivulets
or streams flowing down a hill- side. The flies

THE CHILDREN OF THE SAND-FLY.

often cluster together in numbers on the trees
and bushes by the water- side. They are
delicate little flies, with two gauzy wings, rather
humped backs, and large eyes.

The larva of the Sand-fly is a quaint little
object, looking something like an absurd little
doll dressed in a long, tightly- fitting black
frock. On each side of its tiny head it has a
fan-shaped tuft of fine hairs, and just below
its head two tiny legs stand stiffly out like
stumpy little arms. This funny little creature
creeps about the plants under the water like

68 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

a looper catterpillar ; or, fixed to the under
surface of a leaf by a sucker on its tail, it
hangs head downwards, sweeping the particles
of food which float by in the swiftly moving
stream into its tiny mouth with its waving
hairs.

If the little creature is startled it instantly
drops from its leaf, but it is not, as one might
suppose, swept away by the current. It has
let itself down by a silken rope, just as a cater-
pillar swings down from a tree, and as soon as
it has recovered from its alarm, it will proceed
to haul itself up again. It can spin threads
almost as well as a spider can, and makes a
perfect network round about, stretching from
leaf to leaf. Along these threads it travels at
lightning speed when it wishes to change its
position.

Before changing to a pupa the larva does
not leave the water, but weaves a silken cocoon
which it fixes to the stem of a water weed like
a tiny pocket. At first the pocket is closed,
but as soon as the larva has cast its skin and
become a pupa it pushes it open at the top,
and a strange-looking head, still adorned with
tufts of hair, appears over the top. The pupa
holds fast to the inside of its pocket by a

FLIES AND THEIR WATER BABIES 69

number of hooks on the lower end of its pupa
case, and waves its hairs about in the water
to draw a current of air within.

Before very long the Sand-fly is ready to
leave its prison. But what is it to do ? How
can a little gauzy-winged fly escape through
the rushing water? Surely it will be swept
away and never reach the air and sunshine.

Well, a short time before the fly is ready to
come forth the pupa case swells with air until
it is almost as round as a ball. Then the skin
splits and out comes a silvery bubble of air
that rises swiftly to the top of the water.
Directly it reaches the air the bubble bursts —
vanishes like a fairy coach — and the dainty
little fly which was within steps lightly on
the surface of the stream.

Did ever fairy Prince ride in a more wonder-
ful coach than this little crystal globe, which
carries the fly in safety to the sunshine, up
through the rushing water ?

70 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM
CHAPTER IX

THE WISE CADDIS-WORM

" Three wise old men were they, were they,
Who went for a walk on a summer's day ;
One carried a gun which did nothing but snap ;
One had a club and a cricket cap.
But the wisest one to keep oft' the heat
Wore an ulster down to his feet."

THE water world is really such a dangerous
place for all tiny, soft, little insect folk that
when they go for a swim or a walk, like the
three wise old men, they certainly do need
something to protect them from all the
dragons, the tyrants, and the ogres of the pool.
To be sure they do not carry guns and clubs
to ward off the attacks of ferocious creatures,
but many tiny, defenceless insects have all
sorts of tricks and dodges by which they try
to scare away or outwit their foes. Some
shoot jets of horrid stuff in the faces of their
enemies ; others have long, waving tails and
bristles with which they lash the water,
hoping in this way to startle prowling monsters
and make their escape in the confusion ; but

THE WISE CADDIS-WORM 71

the " wisest one," perhaps, is the funny old
Caddis- worm ; for like the man who " wore
an ulster down to his feet," it clothes itself
from top to toe in a large, trailing garment,
into which when danger threatens it disappears
altogether, like —

The man in the ulster, who smiled as he cried,
" Under my coat / mean to hide. . . ."

The Caddis-worms are really the funniest
sight as they amble and shuffle along at the
bottom of the pool, dragging their long, clumsy-
looking cases behind them. There is very
little indeed of the insect itself to be seen, as
the cautious Caddis never allows more than
its head and shoulders to appear unclothed ;
the rest of its long, thin body is always
completely hidden away in its extraordinary
garment. Its case is often so large and heavy
that if it lived on dry land the Caddis would
not be able to move at all, but under the
water it is, of course, much easier to drag
about a heavy load, and the insect can creep
slowly along the floor of the pool or even
climb up and down the weeds without much
difficulty. As it ambles along on its six thin
little legs the Caddis keeps a sharp look-out

I

72 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

in all directions, ready to pop right back in
its case at the first sign of danger ; but when
all is safe once more, slowly and cautiously

the little head
and tiny legs
are pushed out
again and the
funny old Cad-

% dis goes march-
ing on its way.
fl ^jf The Caddis

has good reason
for being so
cautious, for
although it has
a hard red head
and its should-
ers aie protec-

CURIOUS CASES MADE BY CADDIS- ted by a tOUgh,

WORMS. . . „

horny skin of

the same colour, the rest of its long body is so
soft and white and tender that it would be a
tempting morsel for a hungry water creature.
When out of its case, the Caddis looks very
much like a small caterpillar, only it has no
cushion feet, and instead of a pair of claspers
it has two little hooks at the end of its tail.

THE WISE CADDIS-WORM 73

The Caddis-worms do not all dress alike.
They pay no regard to fashion, but each
Caddis family has its own particular style of
dress. They are most particular, too, about
the material they use. One will have nothing
but leaves, or bits of leaves, arranged round
and round to make a kind of long, frilly skirt,
(very much like the frocks that the little
Basket-worms, which crawl about the trees
and grass on dry land, wear). Another
prefers a plain, neat garment, and is always
dressed in a long straight sort of coat, made
of little pieces of grass or rushes carefully
joined and bound together with silken threads,
which the Caddis-worms spin from their
mouths just as caterpillars do.

Some of these funny creatures surround
themselves with little bundles of twigs, straws,
or chips of wood ; others trim their frocks
with tiny shells and stones, sometimes they
will even stick tiny live snail shells on their
curious garments without in the least con-
sidering the feelings of the poor little snails
inside ! And while some Caddis- worms make
really beautiful little cases of sand, shell,
seeds, or stones, all neatly and carefully fixed
together with fine silky threads, others are

74 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

most untidy creatures and just stick all sorts
of odds and ends together in a higgledy-
piggledy fashion, so that they look as if they
were dressed in rags and tatters. Even a tidy
Caddis, after it has taken no end of trouble to
join its leaves, or pieces of grass, or whatever
it is using, neatly together, will suddenly add
a long straggling wisp of straw or a broken
twig to its costume and spoil the whole thing !
One never knows what a Caddis is going to
do next.

But whatever their cases are made of, and
whether they be neat or untidy, they are
always lined with a finely woven, silken tube,
wliich makes a beautifully soft and cosy
undergarment for the tender body of the
little Caddis-worm.

It is not the least use trying to pull a Caddis
out of its case, for it clings tightly to the
silken lining with the little hooks on its tail
and refuses to budge. The obstinate little
thing would rather allow itself to be pulled
in two than pulled out of its case. Of course
the Caddis outgrows its strange garment
several times while it lives under the water,
and then it will either add another frill or a
fresh row or two of stones, as the case

THE WISE CADDIS-WORM 75

may be, or decide to make an entirely new
costume.

The case has always an opening at both
ends, in order to allow a constant stream of
water to flow through it ; for a Caddis does
not come up to the surface to breathe as so

A CADDIS-WORM TAKING A WALK.

many water insects do, but gets its supply of
oxygen from the water, by means of feathery
gills down its sides.

The Caddis-worms live chiefly upon the
weeds growing beneath the water, but now
and again some of these funny insects grow
tired of having nothing but vegetable for
every meal, and vary their food by catching
and eating a few of the tiny water- dwellers.

76 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

As a rule, however, they are quiet, peaceful
folk, and do not interfere with their neighbours,
though they vary in their ways just as other
folk do ; there is even a Caddis living in the
streams of North America that spreads a
snare to catch its dinner very much as a spider
does. The cunning insect weaves a large,
strong net round the edge of its tube and
supports it at each side with a few little twigs
to keep it well spread out. All sorts of tiny
water creatures come floating down the stream
and are caught in this clever fishing-net, and
so fall victims to the wily Caddis, which lurks
with its head at the end of its tube ready to
seize its prey.

When a Caddis is about to change to a
pupa it first retires within its case and care-
fully closes both ends with a loosely woven
cap of silk, as it does not wish to be dis-
turbed by prying creatures while it is taking
its rest. Sometimes a Caddis strengthens the
cap with a few small stones or other odds
and ends ; but it is always careful to arrange
matters so that a stream of water can flow
through the case, for although the pupa does
not eat, it still continues to breathe.

As soon as the Caddis has safely shut itself

THE WISE CADDIS-WORM 77

up it casts its skin, and there in its place is a
strange-looking white pupa, with two black
eyes, a parrot's beak, a pair of antennae, and
six slender legs which for the present lie limply
pressed against its sides.

This strange pupa lies quietly in its old case
at the bottom of the pool while its wondrous
transformation is taking place. Soon instead
of a Caddis-worm it will be a Caddis-fly — a
pretty, greyish fly that looks very much like a
moth. Its wings are large, and when closed,
meet over the insect's back like a little slanting
roof.

But before it can become a fly the Caddis
must leave the water, and we left it lying as a
pupa at the bottom of the pond, shut up in
its old case. How is it going to get out ?

Well, as soon as it is quite ready to make
its last change the pupa breaks open the end
of its case with its funny parrot's beak, and
pushes its way out into the water. Directly
it is free we see the use of its six thin legs,
for this pupa is able to swim and run about
quite nimbly. But it must not stay long in
the water ; that would not be at all a safe
place for such a soft, defenceless creature ; so
the pupa swims a little way on its back, and

78 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

then climbs up the stem of a plant until it is
above the surface of the water. When safely
in the air the pupa splits its skin, and soon
the little Caddis-fly is flitting away.

CHAPTER X

WATER HOUSES

A CATERPILLAR is about the last insect one
would expect to find living beneath the water.
But then, the insect folk are so astonishing,
and often so contradictory in their ways, that
the more we learn about them the less sur-
prised we are at anything, however peculiar,
that they may do.

The Caterpillar that chooses to make its
home in the water, is the larva of the China
Marks Moth, a small, prettily marked moth
that flies over marshlands, and round about
ponds and lakes. The Mother Moth lays her
eggs on the under-side of the leaves of water
plants, and when the little Caterpillars emerge
they at once take like ducks to the water.

Most Caterpillars would be drowned if they
suddenly found themselves in a pond, but the

WATER HOUSES 79

China Marks Caterpillars are perfectly happy
and comfortable. Each makes for itself a
nice little home by first cutting off an oval-
shaped piece from a leaf and fastening it with
silk to the underside of another leaf, and
inside this it lives contentedly. The Cater-
pillar's house is always full of fresh air, for the
little owner breathes in true insect fashion
through breathing pores (or spiracles) down
each side of its body.

When it is hungry the Caterpillar pushes its
head out of doors and nibbles the plants
round about. The door is an opening with an
elastic edge which fits tightly round the insect's
shoulders while it is feeding ; so the air within
is not displaced, and, strange to say, although
this Caterpillar lives under water no water
ever gets into its little house.

When cold weather comes, and the water
plants wither, this queer little Caterpillar goes
to sleep. In the spring it wakes up again and
sets to work to make a new house, this time
with two pieces of leaf, fastened together at
the edges with silk, so that it can move about
in the water in search of fresh food. It is
often found in ponds where water lilies grow,
for it seems to prefer the leaves of the water-

80 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

lily to any other plant, both for food and for
making its little floating house.

When ready to change to a pupa the cater-
pillar climbs up the stem of a tall plant, and
makes a little cocoon above the surface of the
water, and in due time the little Moth comes
forth and flutters away.

It is strange how much these little water
folk differ one from another in their habits
and customs. There are hardly two that are
exactly alike in every way. The Caterpillar
floats in its airy, water-tight house ; the funny
old Caddis totters along, dragging its heavy
case ; the great Water-beetles swim and dive
in the water ; many insects creep and crawl
about the weed below ; while the Water
Spring-tail hops and skips, and the Pond-
skaters skate upon the surface of the pond.

Some insects draw their supply of oxygen
directly from the water, others must come to
the surface to breathe. Some carry bubbles
of air on the end of their tails. Some carry a
private store spread over their chests, or in
water-tight tanks on their back, and so on.
Some put their heads out of the water to
breathe, others their tails, and others lie on
their backs on the surface.

WATER HOUSES 81

Water-beetles leave the water and rest in
the ground or in silken cocoons while they
are changing to perfect insects, then they
return to their old house once more. The
restless Dragon-fly comes from the pool and
wastes no time in turning to a lovely winged
insect. The Gnat floats to freedom on its
little raft. The Sand-fly and the Caddis-fly
both rest beneath the water ; yet while one is
carried up through the water in a crystal ball
of air, the other climbs up the rushes with
its funny long legs, and does not split its skin
until it is high and dry.

Yet surely there is one way, you think, in
which the flies that come from the ponds and
streams must all be alike. When once they
have donned their gauzy wings they can never
return to the water again.

Not so. There are a few flies that creep
down the stems of the water weeds to lay
their eggs beneath the water. And " curiouser
and curiouser ,"as Alice said when she wandered
through Wonderland, there is actually a wee
four-winged fly which chooses to live in the
water. There it creeps about on the weeds
below the surface, or swims here and there
in a jerky way, using its tiny wings as oars !

82 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

Before we leave the pond we must not
forget to notice the Water-spider. It is not
a true insect, as you can tell at once if you
count its legs — for a spider has eight instead
of six. It differs from the insect folk in
several other ways besides, but you will learn
all about this in the " Spider Book."

But the Water-spider is such an interesting
little creature, we cannot pass her by.

She is not very much to look at as she runs
briskly about over the broad, flat leaves which
lie on the surface of the pond — just an ordinary
little brownish spider, about half an inch long,
with black, hairy legs. But wait until she
dives beneath the water. Gone is the dull
little spider ; in her place we see a beautiful
creature clad in a dazzling silver robe ! The
magic touch of the water has changed the
dowdy spider as the fairy Godmother's wand
changed Cinderella before she went to the
ball!

This magic change is caused by quantities
of tiny air bubbles imprisoned in the soft,
fine hairs with which the spider is clothed.
So as she journeys through the water she is
surrounded with a film of air.

What does the Spider do beneath the

WATER HOUSES 83

water ? She appears to be very busy indeed
down amongst the water weeds. She moves
quickly backwards and forwards, and here
and there she fastens a strong fine thread to
the weeds. Then in the centre of this founda-
tion she begins to spin a fine silky web.

The Spider is not wearing a snare to catch
the water insects. No, she is making a nice
little house in which she may dwell beneath
the water. To be sure, she is very fond of
insects for dinner, but she does not want them
to come blundering into her web and spoiling
her house.

At first the web does not appear very
shapely — it looks only like a little shadowy
bundle in the water. But as soon as she has
finished her weaving the Spider ascends to
the surface, and, climbing up a rope she has
thoughtfully fastened to a floating weed, she
puts the end of her hairy body above the
water, and with a quick little flick she catches
a bubble of air ; then down she dives again,
holding the bubble between her hind legs, and
pops it into her house.

Ever so many times the Spider journeys to
the top of the water, and each time she returns
with another bubble for her house. At last

84 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM

the shadowy web is quite filled with air and
stands out in the water like a silver thimble.

In this beautiful little nest the Spider passes
her time while she is under the water, coming
out now and then to catch something to eat
when she feels hungry. In the winter she
stays at home altogether, and takes a long
nap ; but as soon as warm days return the
Spider is busy again ; she makes another nest
and fastens within it a silken cocoon filled
with eggs.

When the little spiderkins leave the nest
they are too small to spin webs and make
houses, so each one chooses a tiny, empty
shell, that once belonged to a Water-snail,
and fills it with air ; and in this little boat it
floats about until it is old enough to make a
silver thimble.

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University of California

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