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CONTENTS
Royal Heartbreakers Reader Team
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Royal Heartbreakers
Royal Heartbreakers Reader Team
Also by Renna Peak
Also by Ember Casey
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CHAPTER 1
Caspar
This is the second time I’ve been to Seattle in my life. The first was to attend a rather ridiculous party at the home of some newmoney tech mogul whose name escapes me now. This time, it is for something much more important.
I take a bite of my fried fish as I gaze out the window overlooking the water. There’s something exquisite about the flavor of freshly cooked fish, though my surroundings are far from exquisite.
My brother recommended this place—best fried fish in the world, he said. Perhaps he’s right, but it’s difficult to enjoy it given the shoddy table I’m sitting at, not to mention what’s just happened.
I’m not usually one for a pity party. I’m heir to my father’s title— Guardian of Wintervale. It may not seem like much—after all, my cousins are princes of Montovia. But the title is mine by birthright, and I’m more than happy to take it when the time comes. Montovia might be a tiny country landlocked in the middle of Europe, but the small piece of it known as Wintervale will be mine.
But there are things that have been gnawing at me for some time. Sadly, it is only by the grace of my cousins that I even have Wintervale to my name. While this has always been a difficult pill for me to swallow, I know there is little I can do to change it.
And now both of my younger brothers have children. When Benedict’s daughter was born, I was unfazed. The small thing vomited more than she slept and cried more than she laughed. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want such a monstrosity in their life.
Then my brother Xavier discovered he had a young son. I’m not exactly certain what it was about the boy, but my thinking about children changed with that revelation, and I couldn’t help wanting a son of my own.
Certain other events may have affected me as well, but I’m hardly one to think of such matters.
I take another bite of my fish, staring out over the water. It’s unlike me to be so obsessed by anything. Even when it’s come to women, I’ve never been taken with a single one. There are beautiful women everywhere, and it’s always seemed to me that I was meant to experience as much of that beauty as humanly possible.
But having a son of my own… It’s taken over my every thought. It’s why I’ve come to Seattle. I was told the best legal firm for handling surrogacy was here, and their services didn’t disappoint. I spent the last several hours perusing their hundreds of files—women willing to bear a child for a price.
None of them were right, though. Even when I found one I thought might suffice, her file clearly stated that she wanted partial
custody of the child.
That would never work for me. My surrogate will have to play a certain role in my life, at least for a time. I can’t merely produce a son without a mother—the speculation from the press would be outrageous, and I can’t be hiding in Montovia to protect myself from it.
No, I have a very specific idea of what I want. Need.My surrogate will have to be beautiful, of course. Highly educated and brilliant. Able to carry on an intelligent conversation—after all, she’ll need to play the part of my partner, at least until my son is born. And then she’ll need to quietly slip away, preferably somewhere no one will be able to find her, at least until the press forgets she ever existed in the first place.
My guess would be about a year. I’ll pay her, of course, the sum of her choosing. I find there really isn’t a price tag that can be attached to having a son of my own.
And that’s just it—he needs to be mine. I want her to have no claim to him whatsoever, and she’ll need to agree to that upfront. It’s hardly fair that a man can’t have a child of his own without having it grow for three-quarters of a year inside a woman.
I’m just not certain why this has been so difficult. The attorney at the law firm told me I was being unrealistic. That the child would certainly want to know who its mother was at some point. He clearly doesn’t understand anything, but he was certainly willing to take my money. We’lljust have to wait for the right one to come along, he’d said. It could be a month, or a year, or even longer.
I want a son now. I understand it will take some time for him to grow inside some woman’s womb, but I don’t want to wait any longer. I’ve even considered trying to woo some unsuspecting woman, and I’m sure I’d be able to, but the complications of something like that would be…messy. I’d much prefer to have a contract between us, clearly outlining the expectations I have of her.
Someone sits in the booth behind me. The restaurant—if one can call it that—is small, and though it’s mid-afternoon, it’s full of patrons eating trays of fried fish. I barely noticed the constant hum of voices over my own thoughts.
“That’s ridiculous!” The woman behind me must be on her phone. “You have to be kidding me!”
I glance over my shoulder, and my heart stops beating for a moment.
She’s breathtaking. Long, black hair covers her shoulders, and her sapphire eyes stare out at the water.
Her jaw clenches as she listens to whatever the person on the other end of her phone line is saying. “This has to be a joke.”
She doesn’t seem to notice me watching her, but I turn back to my table all the same. As beautiful as she is, I didn’t come here to entice some random woman into bed.
The thought startles me, and I must blink a few times to clear my head. Did I just tell myself I didn’t want to bed a woman on this trip? Perhaps I really have changed. Maybe I’ve finally matured…
But that thought is quickly forgotten when I hear the woman behind me again.
“A million dollars?” she says. “That’s a joke, right? Where the hell am I going to come up with a million dollars?”
CHAPTER 2
Renae
Damnitalltohell.
I drop my cell phone on the table, squeezing my eyes shut to stop the tears that are accumulating in my lower lashes. I don’t have time to cry. I have to think.
My basket of fries sits untouched in front of me. Normally, I’m the kind of girl who believes good french fries can fix anything, but not today. Even my orange Creamsicle milkshake doesn’t look appetizing anymore.
Amilliondollars.Where the hell am I going to get a million fucking dollars? I can hardly cover my rent these days, let alone save up that kind of money.
Joyce comes over, a coffee pot in her hand and a frown on her face. “Something bothering you, Rennie? That looked like one heck of a phone call.”
Normally, I’m only too happy to spill all the messy details of my life to Joyce—after almost two years of my regular visits to this
restaurant, she’s become something of a friend—but today I shake my head.
“You sure?” She props her free hand on her hip. “Forgive me for saying so, Ren, but you look like you’re about to have a breakdown. Is it that manager of yours again?”
I wishthis was just about Donald. How that pencil-dick of a human being ever got a job overseeing the academic libraries at Lake Washington University I’ll never know.
“No, no, nothing like that,” I assure her. And then, because I’ve never been good at holding things inside, I blurt, “It’s about my dad.”
I don’t have to elaborate. Joyce takes one look over her shoulder— presumably to see if any customers need immediate service—then slides into the booth across from me.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
I take a deep breath and swallow the lump in my throat before attempting to speak.
“Remember that experimental treatment I told you about?”
Joyce nods. “From that fancy German doctor.”
“Yeah.” I pick up a french fry and dab it at the mound of ketchup on my plate, even though I have no intention of eating. “Dad got approved.”
“Rennie, that’s great!” The enthusiasm in Joyce’s voice mirrors what I felt at the beginning of the phone call when I initially heard the news. For the first time in three years, I actually allowed myself to hope.
But that hope was dashed as quickly as it was allowed to bloom.
“Yeah, well, they won’t give it to him,” I tell her.
“What?”
“His insurance won’t cover the treatment because it’s ‘experimental’,” I say, disgust thick in my voice. “And apparently the treatment costs a million dollars out of pocket.”
Joyce’s eyes nearly bulge out of her head. “A milliondollars?”
“One point two million, to be exact.” I’ve managed to crush the end of my french fry into mashed potato, so I toss it onto the plate. “Dad’s savings and retirement accounts are already basically drained at this point. And I’m funneling everything I can into paying for his physical therapists on top of what the state provides for his care facility, but unless Donald decides to give me an unexpected raise, I’m bleeding dry. I probably shouldn’t even be eating out.”
“You deserve a raise,” Joyce points out. “You practically run that library yourself. And you put up with entitled undergrad students all day.”
“If anyone deserves a raise here, it’s you,” I counter. “I know what kind of bullshit customers put you through.”
“Speaking of, I should probably get back to work.” Joyce slides out of the booth. “It looks like Mr. Baldy down at the end there is starting to get grumpy.” She pauses next to me, putting her hand on my shoulder and squeezing. “Don’t give up hope just yet, Rennie. Sometimes these things work out.”
She gives me an encouraging smile, and I smile back, but my mouth falls again as soon as her back is turned. I wantto be hopeful, but I’m too much of a realist for that. Or maybe my aptitude for hope dried up the day my dad got in that accident three years ago.
I stare at my plate of french fries and my half-melted shake, trying to will myself to find my appetite again. If I don’t eat something before work, I’m going to regret it. But I can’t seem to make myself hungry.
My phone buzzes on the table. A knot twists in my stomach, the same way it does every time my phone rings these days, but when I see Donald’s name on the screen, I groan inwardly and make myself answer.
“Where are you?” he snaps as soon as I answer the call.
“What do you mean? I’m not coming in until one today.”
“I left you a message to be here at eleven,” he snarls back. “Some idiot pre-law students completely wrecked the reference section. Everything is a mess.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get everything organized again. Did Professor Kingsbury come by and pick up those research materials I gathered for her?”
“How am I supposed to know? Just get in here and do your job!”
“Will you double-check with Rory at the desk? Professor Kingsbury said it was time sensitive. I think she had a meeting with that researcher from Berlin—”
I’m cut off by Donald hanging up.
Cursing at him under my breath, I drop a twenty on the table to cover my lunch and tip and gather up my tote bag full of textbooks and reference materials. Donald has always mocked me for the reading and research I do—he likes to say our job is to “organize books, not read them,” as if reading is a dirty word—but I know I’m better at my job the more familiar I am with the information we keep. That way if a student comes in with a specific question about botany, or World War II, or the limbic system, I can point them to exactlythe books they need. And in the meantime, I consider the chance to learn a fun perk of the position.
At least until Donald comes along and makes me want to stab my eyes out.
Fuckingpencil-dick, I think as I rise from my booth. His bullshit is the last thing I needed today. Why can’t I catch a break? Why can’t the universe do one thing in my favor, give me one good thing without tainting it with some asshole boss or a million-dollar price tag? Just one good thing to
I slam into someone—hard as I turn to leave my table. My tote bag falls off my arm, the textbooks flying everywhere.
“Of course,” I grumble under my breath, dropping to my knees to gather my things. To the other person, I say, “I’m sorry. I’m just having the shittiest day…”
To my surprise, my victim crouches down across from me.
It’s a man—and a strikingly handsome one at that. His red-gold hair shines in the sunlight streaming in through the huge windows,
and his blue eyes are startlingly sharp and arresting. And that jaw—I swear, I could cut diamonds on that jaw.
For a moment, I forget everything but him.
“I’m the one who should apologize,” he says, his words shaped with an accent I can’t place. “Iran into you.” He grabs a couple of my books and hands them back to me. “And I’m not having the best day myself. But from what I overheard, it sounds like yours might be worse.”
“You were eavesdropping on me?”
“Not on purpose. But you were speaking loud enough for me to hear.” There’s a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, and under different circumstances, on a different day, I would have called him charming.
“Well, thank you,” I say as I take the last of my books from him. “But I need to be going. I’m late.”
I rise, but unfortunately, he starts to rise at the same time. I wobble, trying to avoid bumping into him, but that only sends me careening backwards.
Before I can hit the floor again, though, the man grabs me and pulls me toward him. I collide with his chest, knocking him back to the floor, and somehow, as I’m flailing, my head comes up and my lips accidentally meet his.
I freeze.
For an instant, everything is hot and cold at once, and I’m too stunned to do anything but lie there, half-sprawled on top of him, our
mouths pressed together. His lips taste curiously sweet and fresh for someone who was probably just gorging on fried food.
And then I come to my senses.
Scrambling, I push myself from him and practically leap to my feet.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “That was a complete and total accident.”
“I’m not complaining,” he says with a charming smile, rising with much more grace than I did. “If that was an accident, then it was a very pleasant one.”
“It wasan accident,” I insist, glancing around to make sure no one else saw. Most of the nearby customers are too busy with their meals and phones to even look up, but I spot Joyce watching us from the other end of the booths, her eyes wide.
“I’m sorry for running into you,” I tell him, my cheeks blazing. “Now I really need to be going.”
But he’s standing in my way, and he shows no intention of moving. In fact, his gaze is locked on my face.
“Is that your natural eye color?” he asks.
“What?”
“You’re not wearing colored contacts, are you?”
“No.” Okay, maybe he’s not so charming after all. Maybe he’s just weird. And now I’ve gone and accidentally kissed him and given him the wrong idea.
“You said your father is undergoing treatment,” he says, as if it’s perfectly normal to ask a stranger about their family’s medical issues. “That’s not for something genetic, I assume? I believe I heard you
mention a physical therapist, so it sounds like he may have had some sort of accident or—”
“What’s wrong with you?” I demand, my humiliation giving way to defensiveness. He definitelygot the wrong idea. “I told you, that kiss was an accident. I don’t even know you. I’m not having this conversation with you.”
I try to push past him, to escape this awkward situation, but he grabs my arm.
“Forgive me,” he says. “I’ve gone about this completely the wrong way. If we can start over—”
“I’m not interested,” I say, wrenching my arm free. Just when I thought this day couldn’t throw anything else at me
“I’ll give you two thousand dollars to stay here and talk to me.”
Anything I might say dies in my throat. It’s not anywhere close to what I need, but it would be enough to keep me from getting evicted this month.
“Two thousand dollars,” he repeats. “Just for a brief interview. And then, if that goes well, I might be able to give you that million dollars you need.”
CHAPTER 3
Caspar
The woman’s gaze narrows. “Prove it.”
“Prove what?” I ask, genuinely unsure of what she’s asking.
“The money.” She glances toward my midsection—perhaps looking for a bulging wallet—then back up into my eyes. “Prove it.”
I give her a single nod, pulling my wallet from the inner lapel of my jacket. I count out twenty bills and nod toward the booth she’s just left. “Shall we?”
This is probably going to be a wasted effort after all, I can’t believe a perfect woman—particularly one with lips as luscious as hers —would just fall from the sky and into my lap, as it were. After all the searching I’ve done for the right woman, it would be too easy to find her sitting behind me in a diner. And to have had her already kiss me. I’m not sure I was prepared for my perfect surrogate to also be able to arouse me in such a way.
“And all I have to do is answer questions?” She eyes me carefully before her gaze rests on the money in my hand. “Nothing…kinky,
right?”
I open my mouth to answer—a comment like that would usually have a woman in my bed within the hour. But I clamp my lips closed before I can say anything untoward. After all, this woman could be the mother of my son in a few short months.
Instead, I give her a curt nod, motioning again toward the booth. This time she sits, and I take the seat across from her.
“What do you want to know?” Her focus seems to be only on the money still in my hand.
I set it on the table beside me, placing a saltshaker on top of the stack of bills. “Your name, to start.”
“Renae Foster.” She looks up into my eyes. “Is that it?”
I chuckle. “Ten minutes of your time. It’ll be painless, I promise.”
She tilts her head, and I swear, the movement makes my cock take notice, more than it already has. If I weren’t so dead set on finding a woman to bear my child, I’d invite this one back to my hotel for a day or two of fun.
Perhaps if she doesn’t pass the interview, I’ll do just that.
She must sense something, because her gaze narrows. “This is some weird sex thing, isn’t it?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Not at all.” ThoughIwouldn’tmind ifitwas…
“Okay. Then can we get on with it? I need to get to my bus.”
“I’d be happy to give you a ride to wherever you need once our interview is completed,” I say, glancing toward the front door of the
diner. “My car is just out there.”
“Hm.” She frowns, obviously unsure of whether to believe me or not. “Where is that accent from? It’s not quite German. Not quite Austrian.” She cocks her head. “Montovia?”
“You’ve heard of it?” I smile. Perhaps this will go better than I thought.
She nods, still frowning. “What is this about?”
“We’ll get to that.” I drum my fingers on the table. “Now, this illness of your father’s…it was an accident?”
Her gaze narrows again. “You know, it’s rude to eavesdrop—”
“Be that as it may, I am in a position to help you.”
She only hesitates for a moment. “Yes. He and my mother were in a car accident three years ago. She didn’t make it. He wishes he hadn’t.”
“I see. Any other family members?”
“I have a brother.” She cocks her head again. “What is this about?”
“Any mental health problems?”
“Other than him being an asshole? No.”
I nod. “Any cancer or genetic issues in your family?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“Did your mother have any difficulties with her pregnancies?”
“No. This is weird.” She blinks at me a few times. “Why—”
“And what about you?” I interrupt. “Any pregnancies?”
“No!” Her eyes go wide. “I knew this was a weird sex thing—”
“It’s not at all, I promise.” I suppose it does seem strange, but there’s really no other way to ask.
“This is really…weird.” She shakes her head. “Anything else you need to know?” She reaches for the money beneath the saltshaker.
I rest my hand on hers, and a warm rush of energy jolts my arm. “A few more things.”
She looks into my eyes—perhaps she’s felt it, too. I can’t imagine she feels nothing after that kiss we shared. But if she feels anything, she doesn’t mention it as she slowly pulls her hand away. “Well, make it quick. I need to get to work. You have no idea what my boss is going to do when I show up. He already thinks I’m late.”
“What is it you do for work?”
“I’m a librarian.” She narrows her gaze again. “It’s a lot harder than you think. I pretty much have to know a lot about a lot of things. I—”
“I have no doubt that you’re quite intelligent.” After all, she recognized my accent. I’ve found that’s quite a rarity—people can’t place Montovia on a map, let alone identify our accents.
“Hm.” Her gaze narrows again. “So, what’s this all about? You’re asking me health questions, genetic questions… It’s almost as though you’re shopping for a…” Her eyes go wide. “Forget it.”
She stands, gathering her things to her chest before she makes a beeline to the door.
I grab the money from the table, following her out. “You forgot something!” I call after her.
She spins to face me, grabbing the bills from my hand before hastily shoving them in her pocket. “You’ve got some nerve, you know that?”
“Why would you say that?” I shake my head. “I offered you quite a sum of money, only to answer my questions—”
“You think I’m going to…what? Donate my eggs to you and your partner? Forget it.”
“Me and my…?” It suddenly dawns on me what she’s suggesting. “No, no. I don’t have a partner. I just need—”
“Ohh, you and your wife then,” she says, glancing at my left hand before looking up at me. “I don’t have time for this.” She turns and speeds away.
“But you need the money. For your father.” I call after her, jogging to catch her. “It could be a mutually beneficial proposition.”
“You’re going to give me a million dollars. For my eggs.” She shakes her head, still walking quickly toward the nearby bus stop.
“No, not for your eggs.”
“No?” She stops, turning to face me again. “Then for what?”
“A million dollars—or whatever the final cost of your father’s treatment. To bear my child. My son.”
CHAPTER 4
Renae
“You’re insane,” I say. “I don’t even know you.”
He shrugs. “For the moment. That’s certainly not an insurmountable barrier.”
“You can’t just go around asking strangers to be your surrogate.” I glance around, almost embarrassed to have anyone hear me discussing this.
“Of course. We’ll still need to have some further discussions, genetic testing, negotiate the terms—”
“I’m not negotiating anything with you. I don’t even know your name.”
“Is that what this is about? Forgive my poor manners.” He flashes that charming smile, extending his hand. “My name is Caspar. A pleasure to meet you, Ms. Renae Foster.”
Caspar . The name oddly suits him. But I don’t have time to muse on this. Shaking my head, I turn to go. Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any weirder
“I’m serious,” he says, following me. “If you meet my criteria, I’ll pay for your father’s treatment.”
Despite my better judgment, I stop. How could I not?
He steps around me, facing me again. “I’m not trying to take advantage of you, I promise.”
“How do I even know you have that kind of money?” The wad of cash from the table is heavy in my pocket, but there’s a huge difference between two thousand dollars and one point two million.
“I will provide whatever verification you need before we sign any contracts,” he assures me. “And of course, all your expenses will be covered throughout the duration of the pregnancy. I want you to carry my child in comfort, even luxury. And you’ll need to dress the part.”
“The part of what? Expectant mother?”
“I’m getting ahead of myself.” He shakes his head, then locks eyes with me again.
He really does have beautiful eyes… Too bad he’s crazy. So why haven’t I moved?
“I think we can be of assistance to each other,” he says. “I understand I’m asking a great deal of you, but I have every intention of making you feel you received the better end of our arrangement.”
His sheer desperation should have me running for the hills. But for some reason, I’m still here. I can’t believe I’m contemplating this.
But all I can see in my head is my dad, miserable and ready to give up on his life. If this experimental spinal surgery is as
groundbreaking as it appears, he could have his life back. I would do anything to make that happen for him.
Really?whispers a voice in my mind. Anything?Because isn’tthat exactlywhattheuniversehasdeliveredintoyourhands?
I’m crazy for even considering this. I have no idea who this man is, let alone why he thinks I, of all women, would be the best one to carry his child. Or why he wants to give me over a million dollars to do it. I must be the most gullible person alive to even give this offer a moment’s thought.
My cell phone buzzes, and I curse, juggling everything in my hands until I can get it out of my bag.
It’s Donald. Again.
I shove my phone back in my bag. “I really need to go. My boss is going to kill me.” And as the words leave my lips, I look up just in time to see my bus pulling away from its stop across the street. Cursing louder, I chase after it, but I don’t even make it half a block before I know it’s a lost cause.
“Fuck this day,” I mutter. The next bus won’t be here for another twenty minutes, which means I’ll be even later than Donald already thinks I am.
“My offer still stands,” comes that Montovian-accented voice from behind me.
“Look, sir,” I say, turning to face him with a resigned sigh. “Your offer is very generous, but you’re asking a lot of me. This isn’t just a decision I can make on the spot.”
“I was talking about my offer to drive you to your place of work.”
“Oh.” Warning bells about accepting a ride from an insane stranger go off in my head, but honestly, I’m desperate. And if he were a murderer, I’m sure he’d have a better bait story than “I want to pay you to be my surrogate.”
“Okay,” I say. “A ride would be nice.”
Surprise flickers across his face, replaced quickly by pleasure. “Right this way, my lady. Your carriage awaits.”
I snort. “I’m not a lady, trust me.”
“Of course not,” he says cheerfully. “You’ve already told me you’re a librarian. Though I must say, you look nothing like the movies have led me to believe librarians should look.”
I frown. “What does that mean?”
“Oh, you know.” He gives a casual flick of his wrist. “Old. Hunched over. With a tight bun and those big round glasses that make one look like an owl.” He cocks his head to the right, studying me for a long moment. “Though I suppose the glasses aren’t necessary. I must say, your big eyes and round face are reminiscent of an owl in their own right.”
“Uh…thanks?” I’m not sure whether to be insulted or not.
He notices my indecision. “Owls are beautiful, noble creatures. Trust me, my little owl, I find you perfectly lovely.”
Okay, this is starting to get weird again, so I quickly change the subject. “I reallyneed to be getting to work.”
“Of course.”
He leads me around the corner, stopping in front of a fancy black Mercedes.
Iguess this is anothersign that hemight actually have money, I think, letting him take my bag and put it in the backseat. I slide into the front passenger seat. Maybe I should be more careful, but there’s a part of me that keeps whispering to keep an open mind, just in case. If he’s telling the truth, I can’t afford to walk away from one point two million. Even if he’s kind of a weirdo. Who thinks I look like an owl.
“Where to?” he asks, sliding into the driver’s seat.
“The main library at Lake Washington U,” I tell him.
For the first several minutes, we ride together in silence. Honestly, the quiet is almost more disconcerting than the crazy things that come out of his mouth when he speaks.
Finally, I can’t take it anymore.
“I’m going to need some time,” I blurt. “To consider.”
His gaze flicks my way. “So you areconsidering it?”
“I…I don’t know,” I admit. “This is a lot to take in. I need some time. And more information.” Andperhapsagoodknocktothehead.
“That’s perfectly understandable,” he says with a nod. “What time do you get off work?”
I’m not sure what that has to do with anything, but I answer automatically. “Not until nine.”
“Perhaps I can take you to dinner then,” he says. “And we can discuss this further. That gives you all day to come up with your
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quite impervious, but becoming—at any rate in the case of the larger and more important pair—open previous to the final ecdysis. We have mentioned the contradictory opinions of Réaumur and Dufour, and will now add the views of some modern investigators. Oustalet says[341] that there are two pairs of spiracles in the nymphs; the first pair is quite visible to the naked eye, and is situate between pro- and meso-notum; it is in the nymph closed by a membrane. The other pair of spiracles is placed above the posterior pair of legs, is small and completely closed. He does not state what stage of growth was attained by the nymphs he examined. Palmén was of opinion that not only thoracic but abdominal spiracles exist in the nymph,[342] and that they are completely closed so that no air enters them; he says that the spiracles have tracheae connected with them, that at each moult the part closing the spiracles is shed with some of the tracheal exuviae attached to it. The breathing orifices are therefore for a short time at each ecdysis open, being subsequently again closed by some exudation or secretion. This view of Palmén's has been thought improbable by Hagen and Dewitz, who operated by placing nymphs in alcohol or warm water and observing the escape of bubbles from the spots where the supposed breathing orifices are situate. Both these observers found much difference in the results obtained in the cases of young and of old nymphs. Hagen concludes that the first pair of thoracic spiracles are functionally active, and that abdominal stigmata exist though functionless; he appears to be of opinion that when the first thoracic stigma is closed this is the result of the abutting against it of a closed trachea. Dewitz found[343] that in the adult nymph of Aeschna the thoracic stigma is well developed, while the other stigmata—to what number and in what position is not stated—are very small. In a half-grown Aeschnid nymph he found the thoracic stigma to be present in an undeveloped form. On placing a full-grown nymph in alcohol, gas escaped from the stigma in question, but in immature nymphs no escape of gas occurred although they were subjected to a severe test. A specimen that, when submitted to the above-mentioned immersion, emitted gas, subsequently moulted, and thereafter air escaped from the spiracle previously impervious. The observations of Hagen and Dewitz are perhaps not so adverse to the views of Palmén as has been
supposed, so that it would not be a matter for surprise if Palmén's views on this point should be shown to be quite correct.
The number of species of Odonata or Libellulidae that have been described is somewhat less than two thousand, but constant additions are made to the number, and when the smaller and more fragile forms from the tropics are collected and worked out it will probably be found that the number of existing species is somewhere between five and ten thousand. They are distributed all over the world, but are most numerous in species in the warmer regions, and their predominance in any one locality is very much regulated by the existence of waters suitable for the early stages of their lives.
A good work on the British Odonata is still a desideratum.[344] In Britain about forty-six species are believed to be native. They are said to be of late years less numerous than they used to be. Notwithstanding their great powers of flight, dragon-flies are destroyed by birds of various kinds; several hawks are said to be very fond of them, and Merops persicus to line its nest with their wings. The number of Insects killed by dragon-flies in places where they are abundant must be enormous; the nymphs, too, are very destructive in the waters they inhabit, so that dragon-flies have no doubt been no mean factor in maintaining that important and delicate balance of life which it is so difficult for us to appreciate. The nymphs are no doubt cannibals, and this may perhaps be an advantage to the species, as the eggs are sometimes deposited in large numbers in a limited body of water, where all must perish if the nymphs did not, after exhausting other food, attack one another. Martin, speaking of the Odonata of the Département de l'Indre in France, says:[345] "The eggs, larvae, and nymphs are the prey of several fishes, snakes, newts, Coleoptera, aquatic Hemiptera, and of some diving birds. Sometimes the destruction is on a considerable scale, and one may notice the dragon-flies of some piece of water to diminish gradually in numbers, while the animals that prey on them increase, so that a species may for a time entirely disappear in a particular spot, owing to the attacks of some enemy that has been specially
prosperous, and also eager in their pursuit. De Selys found that from a pond filled with carp, roach, perch, and eels, several of the dragonfly denizens disappeared directly the bream was introduced." On the other hand, there can be little doubt that the nymphs are sometimes injurious to fish; it has been recorded that in a piscicultural establishment in Hungary 50,000 young fishes were put into a pond in spring; in the following autumn only fifty-four fish could be found, but there were present an enormous quantity of dragon-fly nymphs.
Odonata are among the few kinds of Insects that are known to form swarms and migrate. Swarms of this kind have been frequently observed in Europe and in North America; they usually consist of species of the genus Libellula, but species of various other genera also swarm, and sometimes a swarm may consist of more than one species. L. quadrimaculata is the species that perhaps most frequently forms these swarms in Europe; a large migration of this species is said to occur every year in the Charente inférieure from north to south.[346] It is needless to say that the instincts and stimuli connected with these migrations are not understood.
The nymphs are capable, under certain circumstances, of accommodating themselves to very peculiar conditions of life. The Sandwich Islands are extremely poor in stagnant waters, and yet there exist in this remote archipelago several highly peculiar species of Agrioninae. Mr. R. C. L. Perkins has recently discovered that the nymphs of some of these are capable of maintaining their existence and completing their development in the small collections of water that accumulate in the leaves of some lilies growing on dry land. These nymphs (Fig. 271) have a shorter mask than occurs, we believe, in any other Odonata, and one would suppose that they must frequently wait long for a meal, as they must be dependent on stray Insects becoming immersed in these tiny reservoirs. The cannibal habits of the Odonata probably stand these lily-dwellers in good stead; Mr. Perkins found that there were sometimes two or three nymphs of different sizes together, and we may suspect that it sometimes goes hard with the smaller fry. The extension in the
length of the body of one of these lily-frequenting Agrions when it leaves the water for its aerial existence is truly extraordinary.
F 271 Under side of Agrionid nymph, with short mask, living in water in lilies Hawaiian Islands × 3
The Odonata have no close relations with any other group of Insects. They were associated by Latreille with the Ephemeridae, in a family called Subulicornia. The members of the two groups have, in fact, a certain resemblance in some of the features of their lives, especially in the sudden change, without intermediate condition, from aquatic to aerial life; but in all important points of structure, and in their dispositions, dragon-flies and may-flies are totally dissimilar, and there is no intermediate group to connect them. We have already, said that the Odonata consist of two very distinct divisions— Anisopterides and Zygopterides. The former group comprises the subfamilies Gomphinae, Cordulegasterinae, Aeschninae, Corduliinae, and Libellulinae,—Insects having the hinder wings slightly larger than the anterior pair; while the Zygopterides consist of only two subfamilies—Calepteryginae and Agrioninae; they have the wings of the two pairs equal in size, or the hinder a little the smaller. The two groups Gomphinae and Calepteryginae are each, in several respects, of lower development than the others, and authorities are divided in opinion as to which of the two should be considered the more primitive. It is therefore of much interest to find that there exists an Insect that shares the characters of the two primitive subfamilies in a striking manner. This Insect, Palaeophlebia superstes (Fig. 272), has recently been discovered in Japan, and is perhaps the most interesting dragon-fly yet obtained. De Selys Longchamps refers it to the subfamily Calepteryginae, on account of the nature of its wings; were the Insect, however, deprived of these organs, no one would think of referring Palaeophlebia to the group in question, for it has
the form, colour, and appearance of a Gomphine Odonate. Moreover, the two sexes differ in an important character,—the form of the head and eyes. In this respect the female resembles a Gomphine of inferior development; while the male, by the shape and large size of the ocular organs, may be considered to combine the characters of Gomphinae and Calepteryginae. The Insect is very remarkable in colour, the large eyes being red in the dead examples. We do not, however, know what may be their colour during life, as only one pair of the species is known, and there is no record as to the life-history and habits. De Selys considers the nearest ally of this Insect to be Heterophlebia dislocata, a fossil dragon-fly found in the Lower Lias of England.
F . 272. Palaeophlebia superstes. A, The Insect with wings of one side and with two legs removed; B, front view of head of female; C, of male. (After De Selys.)
Numerous fossil dragon-flies are known; the group is well represented in the Tertiary strata, and specimens have been found in amber. In strata of the Secondary age these Insects have been found as far back as the Lower Lias; their remains are said to exist in considerable variety in the strata of that epoch, and some of them to testify to the existence at that period of dragon-flies as highly specialised as those now living. According to Hagen[347] Platephemera antiqua and Gerephemera simplex, two Devonian fossils, may be considered as dragon-flies; the evidence as to this appears inadequate, and Brongniart refers the latter Insect to the family Platypterides, and considers Platephemera to be more allied to the may-flies.
One of the most remarkable of the numerous discoveries lately made in fossil entomology is the finding of remains of huge Insects, evidently allied to dragon-flies, in the Carboniferous strata at Commentry. Brongniart calls these Insects Protodonates,[348] and looks on them as the precursors of our Odonata. Meganeura monyi was the largest of these Insects, and measured over two feet across the expanded wings. If M. Brongniart be correct in his restoration of this giant of the Insect world, it much resembled our existing dragonflies, but had a simple structure of the thoracic segments, and a simpler system of wing-nervures. On p. 276 we figured Titanophasma fayoli, considered by Scudder and Brongniart as allied to the family Phasmidae, and we pointed out that this supposed alliance must at best have been very remote. This view is now taken by M. Brongniart himself,[349] he having removed the Insect from the Protophasmides to locate it in the Protodonates near Meganeura. There appears to be some doubt whether the wings supposed to belong to this specimen were really such, or belonged rather to some other species.
CHAPTER XIX
AMPHIBIOUS NEUROPTERA CONTINUED EPHEMERIDAE, MAY-FLIES
Fam. VII. Ephemeridae—May-flies.
Delicate Insects with atrophied mouth and small, short antennae; with four membranous wings having much minute cross-veining; the hinder pair very much smaller than the other pair, sometimes entirely absent: the body terminated by three or two very elongate slender tails. The earlier stages are passed through in water, and the individual then differs greatly in appearance from the winged Insect; the passage between the two forms is sudden; the creature in its first winged state is a subimago,
which by shedding a delicate skin reveals the final form of the individual.
F 273 —Ephemera danica, male, Britain
The may-flies are well known—in literature—as the types of a brief and ineffective life. This supposed brevity relates solely to their existence in the winged form. In the earlier stages the may-fly is so unlike its subsequent self that it is not recognised as a may-fly by the uninitiated. The total life of the individual is really quite as long as that of most other Insects. The earlier stages and life-histories of these Insects are of great importance. The perfect Insects are so delicate and fragile that they shrivel much in drying, and are very difficult to preserve in a condition suitable for study.
The mouth of the imago is atrophied, the trophi scarcely existing as separate parts Packard says that in Palingenia bilineata he could discover no certain traces of any of the mouth-parts, but in Leptophlebia cupida he found, as he thought, the rudiments of the maxillae and labium, though not of the mandibles. The antennae are always short, and consist of one or two thick basal joints succeeded by a delicate needle-like segment, which, though comparatively long, is not divided. The ocular organs are remarkable for their large size and complex development; they are always larger in the male than they are in the female. The compound eyes of the former sex are in certain species, e.g. Cloëon (Fig. 274), quite divided, so that each eye becomes a pair of organs of a different character; one part forms a pillar facetted at its summit, while the other part remains as a true
eye placed on the side of the head; in front of these compound eyes there are three ocelli. Thus the Insect comes to have three different kinds of eyes, together seven in number.
F 274 Front of head of Cloëon, male a, Pillared eye; b, sessile eye; c, ocellus
The prothorax is small, the pronotum being, however, quite distinct. The mesothorax is very large; its notum forms by far the larger part of the upper surface of the thoracic region, the metathorax being small and different in structure, resembling in appearance a part of the abdomen, so that the hind wings look as if they were attached to a first abdominal segment. The mesosternum is also disproportionately large in comparison with the homologous piece preceding it, and with that following it. The pleural pieces are large, but their structure and disposition are only very imperfectly understood. The coxae are small and are widely separated, the anterior being, however, more elongate and approximate than the others. The other parts of the legs are slender; the number of joints in the tarsi varies from five to one. The legs throughout the family exhibit a considerable variety of structure, and the front pair in the males of some species are remarkably long. The abdomen is usually slender, and consists of ten segments; the terminal one bears three, or two, very long flexible appendages. The first dorsal plate of the abdomen is either wanting or is concealed to a considerable extent by the metanotum. The wings are peculiar; the anterior pair vary a great deal in their width, but are never very long in proportion to the width; the hind pair are always disproportionately small, and sometimes are quite wanting. The venation consists of a few, or of a moderate number, of delicate longitudinal veins that do not pursue a tortuous course, but frequently are gracefully curved, and form a system of approximately similar curves, most of the veins being of
considerable length; close to the anterior margin of the wing there are two or three sub-parallel veins. Frequently there are very numerous fine, short cross-veinlets, but these vary greatly and may be entirely wanting.
F . 275. Wings of Ephemera danica. (After Eaton.)
The earlier stages of the life of Ephemeridae are, it is believed, in the case of all the species, aquatic. May-flies, indeed, during the period of their post-embryonic development are more modified for an aquatic life than any other Insects, and are provided with a complex apparatus of tracheal gills. The eggs are committed to the waters without any care or foresight on the part of the parent flies, thus the embryonic development is also aquatic; little, however, is known of it. According to Joly[350] the process in Palingenia virgo is slow. The larva on emerging from the egg has no respiratory system, neither could Joly detect any circulation or any nervous system. The creature on emergence is very like Campodea in form, possessing long antennae and tails—caudal setae. Owing to the organisation being inferior, the creature in its earlier stages is called a larvule; in its later stages it is usually spoken of as a nymph, but the term larva is also frequently applied to it. Soon the gills begin to appear in the form of small tubular caeca placed in the posterior and upper angles of the abdominal rings; in fifteen days the gills begin to assume their characteristic form, are penetrated by tracheae, and the circulation can be seen. The amount of growth accomplished after hatching between March and September is but small.
F 276 Nymph of Cloëon dipterum [351] Wing-sheath of left side, gills of right side, removed; g, tracheal gills (After Vayssière )
F . 277. Larvule of Cloëon dimidiatum. (After Lubbock.)
The metamorphosis of Cloëon has been described by Sir John Lubbock; he informs us that the young creature undergoes a constant and progressive development, going through a series of more than twenty moults, each accompanied by a slight change of form or structure. His observations were made on captured specimens, so that it is not certain that what he calls[352] the first stage is really such. He found no tracheae in the earliest stages; the small first rudiments of the gills became visible in the third stage, when there were no tracheae; the fourth instar possessed tracheae, and they could be seen in the gills. The wing rudiments could first be detected in the ninth and tenth stages. The changes of skin during the winter months are separated by longer intervals than those occurring at other periods of the year.
F . 278. Adult nymph of Ephemera vulgata. (After Eaton.) Britain.
The nymphs differ greatly in the structure and arrangement of their tracheal gills, and display much variety in their general form and habits; some of them are very curious creatures. Pictet[353] divides them in accordance with their habits into four groups: (1) Fossorial larvae: these live in the banks of streams and excavate burrows for shelter; they are of cylindrical form, possess robust legs, abundant gills at the sides of the body, and frequently processes projecting forwards from the head: examples, Ephemera (Fig. 278) and Palingenia. (2) Flat larvae: these live attached to rocks, but run with rapidity when disturbed; they prefer rapid streams, have the breathing organs attached to the sides of the body and not reposing on the back; they are exclusively carnivorous, while the fossorial forms are believed to obtain their nutriment by eating mud: example, Baëtis. (3) Swimming larvae: elongate delicate creatures, with feeble legs, and with strongly ciliated caudal setae: example, Cloëon (Fig. 276). (4) Climbing larvae: these live in slowly-moving waters, especially such as have much slimy mud in suspension, and they have a habit of covering themselves with this mud sometimes to such an extent as to become concealed by it: example, Potamanthus.
F . 279. Nymph of Oligoneuria garumnica, France. g2 and g7, two of the dorsal tracheal gills. (After Vayssière.)
The anatomy of the nymphs has been treated by Vayssière,[354] who arranges them in five groups in accordance with the conditions of the tracheal gills: (1) The gills are of large size, are exposed and furnished at the sides with respiratory fringes: example, Ephemera (Fig. 278). (2) The branchiae are blade-like, not fringed, and are exposed at the sides of the body: example, Cloëon (Fig. 276). (3) The respiratory tubes are placed on the under surface of plates whose upper surface is not respiratory: example, Oligoneuria garumnica (Fig. 279). (4) The anterior gill is modified to form a plate that covers the others: example, Tricorythus (Fig. 282, B). (5) The gills are concealed in a respiratory chamber: example, Prosopistoma (Fig. 280). The last of these nymphs is more completely adapted for an aquatic life than any other Insect at present known; it was for long supposed to be a Crustacean, but it has now been shown to be the early stage of a may-fly, the sub-imago having been reared from the nymph. The carapace by which the larger part of the body is covered is formed by the union of the pro- and meso-thorax with the sheaths of the anterior wings, which have an unusually extensive development; under the carapace there is a respiratory chamber, the floor and sides of which are formed by the posterior wing-sheaths, and by a large plate composed of the united nota of the metathorax and the first six abdominal segments. In this chamber there are placed five pairs of tracheal gills; entrance of water to the chamber is effected by two laterally-placed orifices, and exit by a single dorsal aperture. These nymphs use the body as a sucker, and so adhere
strongly to stones under water When detached they swim rapidly by means of their caudal setae; the form of these latter organs is different from that of other Ephemerid nymphs. This point and other details of the anatomy of this creature have been described in detail by Vayssière.[355] These nymphs have a very highly developed tracheal system; they live in rapid watercourses attached to stones at a depth of three to six inches or more under the water. Species of Prosopistoma occur in Europe, Madagascar, and West Africa.
F . 280. Prosopistoma punctifrons, nymph. France. (After Vayssière.)
o, Orifice of exit from respiratory chamber
According to Eaton,[356] in the nymphs of some Ephemeridae the rectum serves, to a certain extent, as a respiratory agent; he considers that water is admitted to it and expelled after the manner we have described in Odonata, p. 421.
F 281 A, Last three abdominal segments and bases of the three caudal processes of Cloëon dipterum: r, dorsal vessel; kl, ostia thereof; k, special terminal chamber of the dorsal vessel with its entrance a; b, blood-vessel of the left caudal process; B, twentysixth joint of the left caudal process from below; b, a portion of the blood-vessel; o, orifice in the latter. (After Zimmermann.)
The internal anatomy of the nymphs of Ephemeridae shows some points of extreme interest. The long caudal setae are respiratory
organs of a kind that is almost if not quite without parallel in the other divisions of Insecta. The dorsal vessel for the circulation of the blood is elongate, and its chambers are arranged one to each segment of the body. It drives the blood forwards in the usual manner, but the posterior chamber possesses three blood-vessels, one of which is prolonged into each caudal seta. This terminal chamber is so arranged as to drive the blood backwards into the vessels of the setae; on the under surface of the vessels there are oval orifices by which the blood escapes into the cavity of the seta so as to be submitted to the action of the surrounding medium for some of the purposes of respiration. This structure has been described by Zimmermann,[357] who agrees with Creutzberg[358] that the organ by which the blood is propelled into the setae is a terminal chamber of the dorsal vessel; Verlooren,[359] who first observed this accessory system of circulation, thought the contractile chamber was quite separate from the heart. The nature of the connexion between this terminal chamber that drives the blood backwards and the other chambers that propel the fluid forwards appears still to want elucidation.
F . 282. A, Nymph of Ephemerella ignita with gills of left side removed; g, gills: B, nymph of Tricorythus sp. with gill cover of right side removed; g.c, gill cover; g, g′, gills. (After Vayssière.)
The nymphs of the Ephemeridae being creatures adapted for existence in water, the details of their transformation into creatures having an entirely aerial existence cannot but be of much interest. In the nymphs the tracheal system is well developed, but differs from
that of air-breathing Insects in the total absence of any spiracles. Palmén has investigated this subject,[360] and finds that the main longitudinal tracheal trunks of the body of the nymph are not connected with the skin of the body by tracheae, but are attached thereto by ten pairs of slender strings extending between the chitinous integument and the tracheal trunks. When the skin is shed these strings—or rather a chitinous axis in each one—are drawn out of the body, and bring with them the chitinous linings of the tracheae. Thus notwithstanding the absence of spiracles, the body wall is at each moult pierced by openings that extend to the tracheae. After the ordinary moults these orifices close immediately, but at the change to the winged state they remain open and form the spiracles. At the same time the tracheal gills are completely shed, and the creature is thus transformed from a water-breather to an Insect breathing air as usual. In addition to this change there are others of great importance, such as the development of the great eyes and the complete atrophy of the mouth-parts. The precise manner of these changes is not known; they occur, however, within the nymph skin. The sudden emergence of the winged Insect from the nymph is one of the most remarkable facts in the life-history of the may-fly; it has been observed by Sir John Lubbock,[361] who describes it as almost instantaneous. The nymph floats on the water, the skin of the back opens, and the winged Insect flies out, upwards and away; "from the moment when the skin first cracks not ten seconds are over before the Insect has flown away." The creature that thus escapes has not, however, quite completed its transformation. It is still enveloped in a skin that compresses and embarrasses it; this it therefore rapidly gets rid of, and thus becomes the imago, or final instar of the lifecycle. The instar in which the creature exists winged and active, though covered with a skin, is called the sub-imago. The parts of the body in the sub-imago are as a whole smaller than they are in the imago, and the colour is more dingy; the appendages—wings, legs, and caudal setae—are generally considerably shorter than they are in the imago, but attain their full length during the process of extraction. The creatures being, according to Riley, very impatient and eager to take to the wing, the completion of the shedding of the
skin of the sub-imago is sometimes performed while the Insect is flying in the air.
F . 283. Lingua of Heptagenia longicauda, × 16. m, Central; l, lateral pieces. (After Vayssière.)
The food of young Ephemeridae is apparently of a varied and mixed nature. Eaton says[362] that though sometimes the stronger larvae devour the weaker, yet the diet is even in these cases partly vegetable. The alimentary canal frequently contains much mud; very small organisms, such as diatoms and confervae, are thought to form a large part of the bill of fare of Ephemerid nymphs. Although the mouth is atrophied in the imago, yet it is highly developed in the nymphs. This is especially notable in the case of the lingua or hypopharynx (Fig. 283); indeed Vayssière[363] seems to incline to the opinion that this part of the mouth may be looked on in these Insects as a pair of appendages of a head-segment (see p. 96 ante), like the labium or maxillae.
The life-history has not been fully ascertained in the case of any species of may-fly; it is known, however, that the development of the nymph sometimes occupies a considerable period, and it is thought that in the case of some species this extends to as much as three years. It is rare to find the post-embryonic development of an Insect occupying so long a period, so that we are justified in saying that brief as may be the life of the may-fly itself, the period of preparation for it is longer than usual. Réaumur says, speaking of the winged fly, that its life is so short that some species never see the sun. Their emergence from the nymph-skin taking place at sunset, the duties of the generation have been, so far as these individuals are concerned, completed before the morning, and they die before sunrise. He thinks, indeed, that individuals living thus long are to be looked on as Methuselahs among their fellows, most of whom, he says, live only
an hour or half an hour.[364] It is by no means clear to which species these remarks of Réaumur refer; they are doubtless correct in certain cases, but in others the life of the adult is not so very short, and in some species may, in all probability, extend over three or four days; indeed, if the weather undergo an unfavourable change so as to keep them motionless, the life of the flies may be prolonged for a fortnight.
The life of the imago of the may-fly is as remarkable as it is brief; in order to comprehend it we must refer to certain peculiarities of the anatomy with which the vital phenomena are connected. The more important of these are the large eyes of the males, the structure of the alimentary canal, and that of the reproductive organs. We have already remarked that the parts of the mouth in the imago are atrophied, yet the canal itself not only exists but is even of greater capacity than usual; it appears to have much the same general arrangement of parts as it had in the nymph. Its coats are, however, of great tenuity, and according to Palmén[365] the divisions of the canal are separated by changes in the direction of certain portions anterior to, and of others posterior to, its central and greater part— the stomach—in such a manner that the portions with diverted positions act as valves. The stomach, in fact, forms in the interior of the body a delicate capacious sac; when movement tends to increase the capacity of the body cavity then air enters into the stomachic sac by the mouth orifice, but when muscular contractions result in pressure on the sac they close the orifices of its extremities by the valve-like structures we have mentioned above; the result is, that as complex movements of the body are made the stomach becomes more and more distended by air It was known even to the old naturalists that the dancing may-fly is a sort of balloon, but they were not acquainted with the exact mode of inflation. Palmén says that in addition to the valve-like arrangements we have described, the entry to the canal is controlled by a circular muscle, with which are connected radiating muscles attached to the walls of the head. Palmén's views are adopted, and to a certain extent confirmed, by Fritze,[366] who has examined the alimentary canal of the may-fly,
and considers that though the normal parts of the canal exist, the function is changed in the imago, in which the canal serves as a sort of balloon, and aids the function of the reproductive organs. The change in the canal takes place in an anticipatory manner during the nymph and sub-imago stages.
The sexual organs of Ephemeridae are remarkable for their simplicity; they are destitute of the accessory glands and diverticula that, in some form or other, are present in most other Insects. Still more remarkable is the fact that the ducts by which they communicate with the exterior continue as a pair to the extremity of the body, and do not, as in other Insects, unite into a common duct. Thus in the female there is neither bursa copulatrix, receptaculum seminis, nor uterine portion of oviduct, and there is no trace of an ovipositor; the terminations of the ducts are placed at the hind margin of the seventh ventral plate, just in front of which they are connected by a fold of the integument. The ovary consists of a very large number of small egg-tubes seated on one side of a sac, which forms their calyx, and one of whose extremities is continued backwards as one of the pair of oviducts. The male has neither vesiculae seminales, accessory glands, nor ductus ejaculatorius. The testes are elongate sacs, whose extremities are prolonged backwards forming the vasa deferentia; these open separately at the extremity of the body, each on a separate intromittent projection of more or less complex character, the two organs being, however, connected by means of the ninth ventral plate, of which they are, according to Palmén, appendages. We should remark that this authority considers Heptagenia to form, to some extent, an exception as regards the structures of the female; while Polymitarcys is in the male sex strongly aberrant, as the two vasa deferentia, instead of being approximately straight, are bent inwards at right angles near their extremities so as to meet, and form in the middle a common cavity, which then again becomes double to pass into the pair of intromittent organs.
According to the views of Exner and others, the compound eyes of Insects are chiefly organs for the perception of movement; if this view be correct, movements such as those made during the dances of may-flies may, by the number of the separate eyes, by their curved surfaces and innumerable facets, be multiplied and correlated in a manner of which our own sense of sight allows us to form no conception. We can see on a summer's evening how beautifully and gracefully a crowd of may-flies dance, and we may well believe that to the marvellous ocular organs of the flies themselves (Fig. 274) these movements form a veritable ballet. We have pointed out that by this dancing the peculiarly formed alimentary canal becomes distended, and may now add that Palmén and Fritze believe that the unique structure of the reproductive organs is also correlated with the other anatomical peculiarities, the contents of the sexual glands being driven along the simple and direct ducts by the expansion of the balloon-like stomach. During these dances the momentary conjugation of the sexes occurs, and immediately thereafter the female, according to Eaton, resorts to the waters appropriate for the deposition of her eggs. As regards this, Eaton says:[367] "Some short-lived species discharge the contents of their ovaries completely en masse, and the pair of fusiform or subcylindrical egg-clusters laid upon the water rapidly disintegrate, so as to let the eggs sink broadcast upon the river-bed. The less perishable species extrude their eggs gradually, part at a time, and deposit them in one or other of the following manners: either the mother alights upon the water at intervals to wash off the eggs that have issued from the mouths of the oviducts during her flight, or else she creeps down into the water to lay her eggs upon the under-side of stones, disposing them in rounded patches, in a single layer evenly spread, and in mutual contiguity." The eggs are very numerous, and it is thought may sometimes remain in the water as much as six or seven months before they hatch.
The number of individuals produced by some kinds of may-flies is remarkable. Swarms consisting of millions of individuals are occasionally witnessed. D'Albertis observed Palingenia papuana in countless myriads on the Fly River in New Guinea: "For miles the
surface of the river, from side to side, was white with them as they hung over it on gauzy wings; at certain moments, obeying some mysterious signal, they would rise in the air, and then sink down anew like a fall of snow." He further states that the two sexes were in very disproportionate numbers, and estimates that there was but a single female to every five or six thousand males.
Ephemeridae in the perfect state are a favourite food of fishes, and it is said that on some waters it is useless for the fly-fisher to try any other lure when these flies are swarming. Most of the "duns" and "spinners" of the angler are Ephemeridae; so are several of the "drakes," our large E. danica and E. vulgata being known as the green drake and the gray drake. Ronalds says[368] that the term "dun" refers to the pseud-imago condition, "spinner" to the perfect Insect. E. danica and E. vulgata are perhaps not distinguished by fishers; Eaton says that the former is abundant in rapid, cool streams, while E. vulgata prefers warmer and more tranquil rivers.
These sensitive creatures are unable to resist the attractions of artificial lights. Réaumur noticed this fact many years ago, and since the introduction of the electric light, notes may frequently be seen in journals recording that myriads of these Insects have been lured by it to destruction. Their dances may frequently be observed to take place in peculiar states of light and shade, in twilight, or where the sinking sun has its light rendered broken by bushes or trees; possibly the broken lights are enhanced in effect by the ocular structures of the Insects. It has recently been ascertained that a species of Teleganodes is itself luminous. Mr. Lewis,[369] who observed this Insect in Ceylon, states that in life the whole of the abdomen was luminous, not brightly so, but sufficient to serve as a guide for capturing the Insect on a dark night. It has also been recorded that the male of Caenis dimidiata gives a faint blue light at night.
Nearly 300 species of Ephemeridae are known, but this may be only a fragment of what actually exist, very little being known of may-flies
