96 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



certain breakage, or if placed unmounted in envelopes, these should 

 be of soft paper, loosely packed, so that the eyes will not be crushed. 



In my own field work upon Dragonflies I try to cover for each 

 species the points of the following outline : 



I. Imago. 



(i) Name; locality; date; occurrence; etc. 



(2) Haunts : places frequented ; places avoided ; the reasons, if 

 discoverable. 



(3) Flight : its hours ; its duration ; its directness ; average altitude ; 

 places of rest : altitudes. 



(4) Food : its kind ; how obtained ; where eaten. 



(5) Enemies : what are they, and how do they destroy Dragonflies ? 



(6) Oviposition : does the $ oviposit alone or attended by the ^ . 



(7) The eggs : where placed ; number in a place ; incubation period. 



II. The Nymph. 



Points I, 2, 4 and 5 of above, and Imagination : hours; places; 

 distance from water ; etc. 



I shall have to admit at once that it is very difficult to determine all 

 these points for a single species, but the effort will lead on into delightful 

 intimacy with these beautiful insects. 



At the kind invitation of the editors, I venture to say to the readers 

 of this magazine that I am now engaged upon a semi-popular monograph 

 of N. American Dragonflies, which, in so far as it includes accounts of 

 habits and life-histories of the species, must of necessity be a co-operative 

 work. And I have written this to invite co-operation. The foregoing 

 simple methods are the very best. I will furnish (if desired) half a dozen 

 named nymphs of typical genera to any one who will undertake to collect 

 and rear others. I shall be very willing to determine nymphs or imagoes 

 for any one, and to point out for description such as are new. But I 

 especially desire that accurate field observations and notes be made on 

 many of our species of which we now know only the names, and to such 

 observers I will give all possible aid. 



The Annual Report of the Entomological Society of Ontario for 

 1896 is now in type and will soon be ready for distribution. 



Mailed April ist, 1897. 



