Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/314

 302 MAYFLY MAYIIEW Mayfly Larva and case. overhanging the water, attached by a viscid mat- ter ; the small six-footed larva?, when hatched, fall into the water, and there form for them- selves cases of bits of straw, wood, leaves, stones, and shells, cemented together by a glu- tinous silk ; they are hence called case or cad- dis worms; the larva pro- trudes its head and shoulders from the case when search- ing for food ; the manner in which these cases are made, ballasted, and balanced af- fords a striking example of insect architectural ingenu- ity. (See Rennie's "Insect Architecture.") The pupa is incomplete, and is enclosed in the larva case, at one end of which is a silken grating through which the water for respiration is admitted and ejected ; just before quitting the case the grating is cut through by a pair of curved mandibles, and the insect leaves the water by means of the four anterior legs, which are uncon- fined, to assume the perfect state. The flies as well as the larvae are greedily eaten by fish, and are well known to anglers, who imitate the per- fect insects by colored feathers as bait for trout, grayling, &c. Mayflies fly heavily, and gen- erally alight on bushes near the water's edge ; most of them are brown with cinereous, green- ish, and yellowish markings ; they include the willow, alder, green-tail, and dun flies, which cover the surface of the water during the cloudy days of spring, affording plentiful food for fish ; as the season advances they appear chiefly in the morning and evening, and during the heat of summer are principally nocturnal. About 800 species are described, one of the largest of which is the P. grandis (Linn.) of Europe, nearly an inch long, with a spread of about 2 in. ; the upper wings are brownish gray with cinereous spots, and the antenna as long as the body. Kirby established the order tri- choptera for these insects, which present some peculiarities connecting them with lepidoptera; the larvae resemble the moths in making cases ; the perfect insects have the wings hairy but scaleless, without reticulations, and the under ones folded longitudinally ; the antennae are like those of moths, and the tibiae are often armed with the two pairs of spurs observable in the latter ; but they have not a spiral tongue, and the head has three single eyes as well as the usual compound ones ; the abdomen is never furnished with terminal setae. There are some of the pyralides or delta moths, in the larva state living in leafy cases under water, and feeding on aquatic plants, which seem to make a transition to the trichoptera or this division of the neuroptera. Another neurop- terous insect, of the subulicorn family and genus ephemera (Linn.), is also called mayfly; the lower wings are much smaller than the Mayfly (Ephemera). upper, and both are carried perpendicularly; the abdomen is terminated by two or three seta? ; the antennae are short, and the body is soft, long, and tapering. These frail creatures appear in the winged state toward evening in summer, often in immense numbers; the E. albipennis, a European species, with white wings, occurs sometimes in such abundance in midsummer as to re- mind one of a snow storm. The larva? are aquatic, and excavate burrows in the banks of streams under water, in which they are safe from fishes and yet am- ply supplied with food ; after changing their skins several times they become nymphs, with the long caudal appen- dages and lateral fringes of the larva?, but with rudimentary wing cases in addition ; after attaining the winged state, they cast off a complete envelope of skin. Passing a year or two in their imperfect condition, they assume their perfect shape and sport for a few days, perhaps for a few hours only, in the sum- mer day or evening. The fishermen of France call them manna from their furnishing abun- dant food for fish, covering the surface of the water with their countless swarms in Au- gust. (See Rennie's * ' Insect Transformations. ' ') These are called day flies, and are imitated, as baits for fish. There are several in America. MAYHEW, the name of several brothers dis- tinguished in contemporary English literature. I. Henry, born in London, Nov. 25, 1812, was educated at Westminster school, and afterward established himself in London as a literary man. In 1841 he assisted in founding the comic periodical "Punch" (which was pre- ceded by " Figaro in London," also started by himself), and for some years was its chief edi- tor. His principal publication is " London La- bor and the London Poor," commenced in the columns of the London "Morning Chronicle" and published in 3 vols. 8vo (1861 ; new ed., 1868). In conjunction with his brothers Hor- ace and Augustus, the former of whom was for many years attached to the staff of " Punch," he produced a series of humorous novels and Christmas stories by the " Brothers Mayhew," including " The Image of his Father " (1848) ; " The Greatest Plague of Life, or the Adven- tures of a Lady in Search of a Husband " (1849) ; " The Good Genius that turned Everything into Gold" (1851); "Whom to Marry and How- to get Married " (1856) ; " The Magic of Kind- ness," "Acting Charades," &c. Under his own name he has published several interesting juvenile books, "Young Benjamin Franklin," "Boyhood of Martin Luther," "The Story of the Peasant-Boy Philosopher," founded on the life of James Ferguson, and " The Wonders of Science," founded on that of Sir Humphry