The American Boy
na
Pop ular Science Department A DEPARTMENT OF INTEREST TO EDITED
AND
ILLUSTRATED
YOUNG AND OLD
BY PROFESSOR
A. HYATT
VERRILL
tops. The aclutt insect fecds upon sap and the julce of fruits but rloes very little damage. 'I'ho lritl)its of the seventeen year cicada are ox{rctly similar save that in this specios tl)c gnr]) or larva May Fties exist in the adult state for spends seventeen ycars beneath the only a few hours. 1'hey are easily distlnguished by the shape of the wings, the two lonEi thread-like appendages on the abdomen. The mouth parts end of the'wanting for in the adult sta.te are nearly @ these creatures eat nothing. They differ dW A from all other insects in molting once af ter reaching the winS:ed state. 'Ihe May Irlies are among: the most delicate and a of creatures with lacelike wings body so transparent that the juices or =f..=r" blood can be seen pulsatinS: within. E Often on warm summer evenings thesc delicate beings swarm about street lamps in thousands and actually darken the light by the immense numbers clinSing to the glohe while the pavements beneath are made stippery by the deaal bodies of the myriads of insects falling to the ground. While their winged existSeventeen Ycar Locttst ence is so brief yet in their larval state they are far from delicate or short lived. A-Eg& Sltts in TwiE. B-EEts. C-Pupa Case in the mud at 'Ihe young XIay Fly livesponds and feecls ground. More thatr tw0nty distittct the bottom of streams or tracAd small insecls Tl 6roocls of lhis insocl hnve booll broods upon \vater |1Iants and scvcral is a sLrong, Iively litLle ereature wilh anal as in many places localities thcso irl iniec.ts the frinaed giIls along its sides and with overiap, times (luring a Deriod of scveral feathery jointecl appendages pro- ipie"i's.vural jccting from its taiI. ft has strong se.ienteen years. r\uother southern speirooked legs and can both swim and wal1t cies requires thirteen years to develo!' rapidly. This creature molts of ten!- trtany people are very superstitiotls iil sometimes as many as twenty tirnes,ancl after the ninth molt four 1ittle sacs bud out from its thorax. 'Ihese are the bexinning of the rving:s and rvith each follou'ing change of skin they increase in size until the last skin of the larva is shed, the gil1s ancl mouth parts clisappear and the insect cones forth a winged May FIy after living for two or three years beneath the water' Strangely enough this delicate creature is not yet adult and still another chang:e must be undergone. After flying about for a short distance the shln is shed again,-a thin layer coming olf from every part of its body, even from the win8:s,-anat thc ful1y aclult insect is even more delicate and phantom.like than before. It now has but one duty to perform anal that is to lay its eggs. The eggs are deposited either on the surface of the water or beneath stones'lteneath the surface, accorcling to the species. lYhen the egg:s are laid in the latter situations the mother May F1y wraps her win8:s about her budv ind usins them as a diving bell goei dowrr into thc water to deposit her eB:gs.
Nature Puzzles ancl their Answers Iruua Moth.
Ralph Harrington:-The moth
you
founal and of rvhich you send such an excellent sketch and description, is the
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The Boy rLi ,,,
lIlho Leads in any sport knorvs
that "3 in One" isthe
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l:est oil for bicycles. Ilakes bearings ru! easily, smoothly and prevents rvear- wili not gum, clry out or collect dust. Cleans.
polishes ard
Luna Moth
Luna Moth, sometimes calIed the "Queen of the Nisht." The larva, or caterpillar, is a stout pale-green "worm" $.ith bands of lighter groenish or yellolvish white betrMeen each segment and a yellowish
pre.
vents rust on all the Bretal suface.
Try on guns inside ald out-trigger, hamrner, barrel. Also try on tools, roller skates, flshing: reels, etc. tr little "B in One,, or base ball gloves makes them soft, pliable and Iasting.
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Eere is x detacl ral,lc tnotor that lou can ctxilrp totlc stern ,,t rrrv ^ I r.wh,,rt itran iDstantrnJ Eo sIrrrrrrrirrc ovcr iln: wrn",r x l!,rrr\vith trllil,,' E "'il,.rnri
Grourrd. Ileetle,
I.nrvir of l-.rrnir Mollr
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Allen
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T]owman:-The inscct scnt is
sDcclcs ot (ltoutttl .llootlo. llhoso &ro