THE DRAGON FLY. 



113 



Olio of onr most common Dragon flies is the ruby Dragon fly, 

 Diplas rubicundula, which is ycUowish-red. It is seen every- 

 where flying over pools, and also frequents dry sunny woods and 

 glades. Another common 

 form is Diplax Berenice 

 (Fig. 135 male, Fig. 13G 

 female. The accompany- 

 ing cut (137) represents 

 the larva, probably (J( this 

 species, according to Mr. 

 Uhler.) It is black, the 

 head blue in front, spotted 

 with j'ellow, while the 

 thorax and abdomen are 



striped .with yellow. 1"3- Diplax Loieuice, male. 



There are fewer stripes on the body.of the male, which has only 

 four large j^ellow spots on each side of the abdomen. 

 Still another pretty species is Diplax Elisa (Fig. 138). 

 It is black, with the head yellowish and with greenish- 

 yellow spots on the sides of the tliorax and base of the 

 abdomen. There arc three dusky spots on the front 

 edge of each wing, and a large cloud at the base of the 

 hind pair towards the hind angles of tlie wing. 

 Larva Rather a rare form, and of much smaller stature is 

 of Diplax. ^jjjj Nannophya bella (Fig. 138, female). It was first 

 detected in Baltimore, and we afterwards found it not unfre- 

 quently by a pond' in 

 Maine. Its abdomen is 

 unusually short, and the 

 reticulations of the 

 wings are large and sim- 

 ple. The female is black, 

 while the male is frosted 

 over with a whitish pow- 

 der. Many more species 

 of this family are found 

 in this country, and for 

 descriptions of them we 

 would refer the reader to Dr. Ilagen's "Sj^nopsis of the Neurop- 

 tera of North America," published by the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution. 



136. Diplax Eeieulce, female. 



