1 56 Zoology of Colorado 



Wyoming. The modern damsel-flies of the same group or sub- 

 family have only two of these antenodal cross-veins, with the 

 exception of three rare genera, found in Central America, Ecuador 

 and West Africa respectively. 



Although the living Colorado Zygoptera are for the most part 

 small and rather inconspicuous, there are two very beautiful 

 species. One of these, described by Kennedy as a "living jewel 

 with its metallic green body and crystal wings tipped with jet", 

 is the Agrion aequabile of Say. In the males the wings are broadly 

 black at the end, as if dipped in ink; in the females this color 

 appears as if diluted, becoming pale brown. The antenodal cross- 

 veins are numerous, as in all members of the Agrionidae (Calo- 

 pterygidae of many authors). This splendid insect occurs in the 

 mountains not far from Boulder, and the Colorado specimens 

 differ from those obtained in other parts of the United States, 

 so that they are recognized as a subspecies coloradicum. 



The other conspicuous damsel-fly found in Colorado is the 

 Hetaerina americana, first described by Fabricius* in 1 798. Both 

 sexes were collected by Mr. Glenn Hite at Pueblo, in August 1 907. 

 The female has the wings slightly stained with rusty reddish, 

 but is not at all striking. The male has the bases of the wings 

 broadly brilliant carmine, the color of red ink, and the head and 

 thorax have a beautiful copper-red suffusion. This insect looks 

 tropical, and is in fact a northern representative of a genus which 

 abounds in Central and South America. This particular species 

 has a very wide range, from Canada to Guatemala. Hetaerina 

 belongs to the Agrionidae, and, like Agrion, has many antenodal 

 cross- veins. 



There is a very fine genus of damsel-flies called Archilestes, 

 large forms with only two antenodal cross-veins, represented by 

 two species in North America. In the fall of 1921 this genus was 

 discovered at Boulder, in the immediate vicinity of the University, 

 by Miss Dorothy Young. So far, only females have been col- 

 lected, and the identity of the species is therefore uncertain. 



Our Anisoptera include numerous species, some of them of 



♦John Christian Fabricius, 1742-1807, was a professor in Copenhagen, Denmark. Fol- 

 lowing the methods of Linnaeus, he described insects of all kinds with the utmost zeal, traveling 

 to foreign countries to examine collections. Dru Drury, the English entomologist, described 

 him in 1768 as "a very ingenious worthy young gentleman of Denmark", and in 1773 wrote: 



"He is now in London and very busy in making descriptions a pleasure he seems to 



enjoy with as much glee as a Lover of Wine does ye sight of his Cellar when well stored with 

 full Casks and Bottles." 



