The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-02-02
CREATURES OF TWO WORLDS.
Which Spend Part of Their Lives In
Water, Part In the Air.

Which Spend Part of Their Lives In
Water, Part In the Air.
There is a water spider that lives partly
on the surface and partly below it, 1t has
q pretty home. like silver globe as light
as air, which sometimes rises to the top
and sometimes is moored down under the
water by silken threads.
The dweller in this fairy palace Is also
its architect, having spun Its shining
walls from itself, for the spider carries In
side wonderful store of silk with threads
SO fine that it Is said TO take thousands of
them to make the thickness of hair. Its
feet are like delicate combs, which Olsen.
tangle the threads and remove any minute
specks, and our diver, who goes from the
air above into the shining water below,
travels by his own private railway to and
fro, and after he has arrived no doubt he,
like other spiders, gathers up the thread
into silken ball and throws it aside. 1t
would. never do to leave the road open for
any insect tramps that might be coming
that way.
The dragon fly lives In the water dur.
ing one stage of it's life and in the air
during another. The eggs are laid on the
leaves of water plants. When the larva of
a dragon fly appears, 1t is very queer
creature indeed. In the first place, it
wears mask, which conceals its mandi-
bles, or jaws, and when it sees anything
that it would like to capture for its din
ner it suddenly unfolds this mask and
throws it forward. 1t has two sharp claws
that instantly seize the prey.
1t also draws in and sends forth water
moving in this way, and taking in the air
in the water for breathing purposes. For
nearly year it lives in the water world ;
then on some fine May or June day 1T
climbs up the stem OF some tall water
plant that rises above the surface, and In
about two hours throws off the old ugly
body and darts away-an inhabitant OF
the air world for the rest OF Its Ilfe-on
four gossamer wings, glitterlng with
many beautiful coiors like those OF shin
ing silver and bronze
It flies as swiftly as a swallow, and has
long, slender body and large eyes, cut
with many sides like diamond, and on a
sunshiny day you may see many OF them
catching their prey on the wing. If you
should put it back into the water world of
its childhood, it would die.
The ephemeride, or flies that live only
in the air world for day, spend as many
as two or three years in the water, having
something like gills to breath with They
have chrysalis as well as larva state,
though they are active in each. 1t is called
their chrysalis state while their wings are
forming, though these are never unfolded
until they leave their first home forever.
1t is marvellous to see with what swift
ness they make their change. When the
time comes, they throw off the old skin
more quickly than man can take off his
overcoat by good deal, unfold their new
wings, and with their feet resting on their
oastoff body, dart away into the beautiful
new world They love the sunshine OF
any shining light and dance and circle
merrily in crowds about it.
I think if an elf or fairy could be taken
out of his story book world he would find
transformations just as marvellous and
palaces just as beautiful in the real world
of nature. Philadelphia Times.