52 



ELEMENTARY LESSONS ON INSECTS 



Fig. 17.— A 

 damselfly (Isch- 

 nuraverticalis). 



With these characters noted it will be quite impossible to 

 confuse a member of this order with any 

 other group. All are aquatic in their 

 immature stages ; and hence, however widely 

 the adult females may wander over the 

 land, they return to the water to lay their 

 eggs. Their food is largely other insects that 

 have aquatic larvae, such as midges and 

 mosquitoes. 



Dragonflies proper are mostly large, stout- 

 bodied insects, having broad wings, the 

 hind wings broader than the fore, and which at rest 

 are held horizontally outspread. 



Damselflies are smaller and slenderer 

 with fore and hind wings narrow and 

 alike in form. At rest they are closed 

 together above the back, or are held 

 obliquely aslant. 



The nymphs of Odonata are very dif- 

 ferent sort of creatures from the adults. 

 They live in the water, are rather in- 

 active and lie in wait for their prey. 

 They are all carnivorous. They feed 

 upon almost any aquatic animals that 

 are small enough for them to capture. 

 Some are cannibals, and eat each other. 

 All are equipped with a long, hinged 

 and jointed grasping labium that is a remarkable organ 



Fig. 18.— The nymph 

 of the "white tail" 

 (Plathemis lydia). 



