The Biology of Callibaetis floridanus Banks (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae)

Abstract

Collections of nymphs were made by the usual methods; subimagoes were taken from vegetation in the field; and mated females were collected both at a lighted sheet and light traps, but most were obtained from low spider webs at the banks of a pond near Gainesville. Females, caught in the webs, were often found still living, usually with a reddish mass of eggs, already extruded, adhering to their abdomens. The mass was washed into a jar of water and the young hatched immediately on contact with the liquid. To compare field-reared nymphs with those reared in the laboratory, the newly hatched insects were kept in cage,s made from parachute silk fastened to a wire frame; the tops of the cages were covered with clear plastic. At the same time that nymphs were placed in the field cages,