CHAPTKR V 



THE IMAGO. 



So great is the general likeness amongst the imagines 

 of the Dragonflies, that no difficulty need be experienced 

 in recognising the oneness of the group even by the 

 merest tyro. The head, though varj-ing greatly in 

 details, is al\va}-s large and conca\e behind. The thorax 

 tapers anteriorh' and enters the hollow, where it is lightly 

 attached to the head — so slight indeed is the attach- 

 ment of the latter that its capability of rotation and 

 movement is ver\- great ; in fact, although recognising 

 the impossibilit}' one cannot helj^ conceiving the idea 

 that the head is simply balanced on the projecting point of 

 the thorax and not attached at all. The thorax has the 

 three usual divisions, though the meso- and meta-thorax 

 are modified in rather an unusual manner : as append- 

 ages it possesses six legs and four wings. There are 

 ten segments to the abdomen, and also a small eleventh 

 one in the female (very rudimentar\- in the male), and 

 attached to the posterior ]3art of tlie body are two or 

 more anal appendages. 



Eyes of large size and wonderful brilliancy are the most 

 striking features of a Dragonfly's head. In one division 



