J 2 British Dragonflics. 



appendages reddish ; upper ones c}'lindrical, pointed ; lower 

 one triangular, turned up slightl)' at the tip. 



Female Imago. 



Except that tlie scarlet colouring is absent the female 

 closely resembles the male. It is, however, a little 

 more bulky ; the black spots on segments 8 and 9 are 

 so developed as to nearly lill the segments, and the 

 black lateral streaks on the abdomen are more pro- 

 nounced. In very adult specimens scarlet colouring 

 appears along the mid-dorsal line of the abdomen and 

 on the prominences at the base of the wings, while the 

 pterostigma becomes ruddy ; but this is only following 

 the general law that females tend to assume the male 

 tints as they become very mature. The anal appendages 

 are short, cylindrical, brown. ]^iilvar scale somewhat 

 prominent posteriori}' ; in the middle of its extremit}- 

 there is a small notch. 



Immature Colouring, 



In young specimens the brown and scarlet are both 

 replaced by pale yellowish brown ; there are two yellowish 

 bands on the front of thorax, which can sometimes be 

 traced in adult specimens, and the pterostigma is pale 

 yellow. The sexes are very much alike. 



Variation. 



In this species there is much variation in size, and in 

 the amount of scarlet on the adult male. The dark 

 brown suffusion on the wings and the sepia tint of the 

 abdomen of many females late in the season are 

 simply due to age. 



