157 



ment of sporting in another element with appendages previously hidden from 

 view and undeveloped in their beauty. 



I. Libellula, Fabricius. The individuals of this genus have their wings 

 extended horizontally when at rest. The head is globular, and the eyes very 

 large and approximating. Two ocelli on each side a vesicular elevation on the 

 vertex, and the anterior one much larger. L. depressa is a well-known species, 

 generally very common in May and June, dispersed on the margins of ponds all 

 over the country, and hence easy of capture. It never seems to diminish or 

 indeed materially to increase its numbers, though it is recorded by Blumenbach, 

 from Voight's Neues Magazin, that in the years 1806 and 1807 they appeared 

 in great crowds in Thuringia and the Hartz. The abdomen of the male is of a 

 fine blue slate colour, which he displays very conspicuously as he shoots along ; 

 that of the female is brownish yellow, with yellow spots on each side. Both are 

 remarkable for the elegant black and orange markings at the bases of all the 

 wings. L. depressa may be very frequently seen perched upon a dry hedge-stick 

 in the hot sunshine, where he seems to be imbibing the solar rays, and darts 

 off swift as an arrow if disturbed. 



L. quadrimaculata, a much rarer species, of a light brown colour, with 

 hairy thorax, is distinguished by two conspicuous brown spots on the costal nerves 

 of each wing, with a broad scorched-like mark at the base of each of the posterior 

 wings. L. cancellata is another fine species. L. vulgatissimus, brown, with yel- 

 low markings, may be met with in June about woods and hedges. 



II. iEstiNA, Fab. The JEshruz resemble the Libellula? in the position and 

 bearing of their wings, and in the form of the head, but their two posterior ocelli 

 are placed in a simple transverse elevation, in the form of a carina. M. Van der 

 Hoeven lays some stress upon the cellulae at the base of the anterior wings, being 

 larger in JFshna: than in Libellula;, and horizontally shaped, instead of inversely 

 triangular ; while there is no difference between their anterior and posterior wings, 

 which there always is in the latter. The abdomen is here narrow and elongated. 

 2E. varia is a splendid insect : his size, varied colours, rapacious habits, and 

 rapid flight, justly entitling him to the appellation of an " emperor of the insect 

 world." The thorax is marked with four broad greenish-yellow stripes, and the 

 abdomen is beautifully variegated with green and yellow, on a brown ground. 

 Wings four inches in expansion, iridescent. This species is very partial to the vici- 

 nity of woods, dashing with amazing velocity among the ramifications of the trees, 

 while tints of dazzling splendour play on his resplendent armour as he shoots along. 

 This insect flies later than most of his order, probably to catch the evening insects. 

 Mr. Newman has placed the Libellulidcc in the centre of his septenary scheme of 

 insect creation, as the type of Nature's perfection of skill and splendour in this 

 division of animated life. " In this group," he observes, " we find the organs of 

 sight, manducation, and locomotion carried to a greater degree of perfection than 



