552 PROCEEDINOS OF THE NATIONAL MVtiEVM. vol. 5a. 



prize of prizes flying away, waited several very long moments, wliile 

 he decided whether to alight or to fly across the river out of my reach. 

 Indifferent to danger, he Ht on my side of the river but in the safest 

 place possible as he chose a bare patch of ground in the midst of a 

 broad area of salt grass. As salt grass at its best is only six inches 

 high there was no cover whatever to aid in stalking him. Resorting 

 to the only tactics available I very slowly approached him on my 

 hands and knees and was greatly relieved when I got close enough to 

 see that he, still unmindful of his danger, was busily engaged in 

 scratching his head %vith his foot. I was more relieved when a moment 

 later I had the net over him, but the suspense was not entirely reheved 

 until I had him in a cyanide bottle and the cork in tight. 



That night I took the train down the river to Lovelocks, the last 

 town before the river spread out into the Humboldt Lakes. Here the 

 following day along the river two miles east of town I fomid both 

 species of GomjyJius abmidant and took a series of the small species as 

 well as several of its exuviae. 



As with most species of Gomphus this species spends much of its 

 time seated on some bush or piece of driftwood, rarely alighting on 

 the ground. However, when it is on the wing it is very energetic, and 

 the males fly rapidly back and forth in short beats, about 6 inches 

 above the surface of the water. The females oviposit while flying 

 in the same quick, nervous manner. After many attempts I gave up 

 trying to catch these over the water because they flew so close to the 

 surface it was difiicult to hit them without striking the water. In 

 copulation the male picks the female up either from over the water or 

 from some bush, and after a very short nuptial fhght settles for a very 

 long period in copulation. While I did not time any individuals, I 

 believe such periods lasted an hour or more. Couples thus in copula- 

 tion were so numerous and so preoccupied that I took more in copula- 

 tion than single. 



This species had been taken before only on the Pecos River,^ in 

 New Mexico. The only difference apparent between the Humboldt 

 specimens and the description of intncatus is that in intricatus from 

 the Pecos, the vertex is yeUow,^ while in aU the Humboldt specimens, 

 both male and female, the area about each antenna is dark brown and 

 a darkband connects the tliree oceUi. Also in structure the Humboldt 

 specimens are larger, being 50 mm. in length as against 45 mm. for 

 the Pecos specimens. See figures 254-262 for structural details. 



The following is the five color of the Humboldt specimens : 



Male. — Face yellow, eyes pale gray, vertex ohve yellow with dark 

 brown about each antenna and a brown stripe connecting the three 

 ocelli; occiput yellow. (See fig. 247.) 



1 Since writing this paper I have collected this species on the Owens River, in Inyo County, Cali- 

 fornia, and have foimd a single male in the Cornell collection from Calexico, California, collected by Dr. 

 Bradley, Aug. 11, 1914. Calexico is in the Imperial Valley. 



» Selys, Mon. Gomph., 1858, p. 678. 



