222 British Dragonflies. 



They frequent little rivulets, or ditches of running water, that are 

 overshaded by bushes by bank sides." Fig. 4 is probably a male, 

 as the white " speck " is not mentioned, and the appendages 

 appear to be those of a male ; the body, however, looks like that 

 of a female. In the case of Fig. 5, the brown wings seem to 

 point to a female virgo, but the description appears to suit a female 

 splcndens.'\ 



Size. 



Length of Male, 44"5mm. to 47'5mm. ; expanse of 

 wings, 56mm. to 65mm. Length of Female, 43mm. to 

 46mm. ; expanse of wings, 64mm. to 66mm. 



Male Imago. 



Head bright metalHc bhie ; labrum and rhinarium 

 brown ; labium black. Ryes distant, spherical, reddish. 

 Ocelli conspicuous. Prothorax of fair size, blue. T/iorax 

 blue, with a greenish tinge in places, a few projections 

 between the wings and at their insertion )-ellowish. 

 Legs long, slender, black. IVings hx-aline, with a large 

 elliptical dark opaque patch, blue in some lights, 

 extending from the costa to the hind-margin of the wings, 

 and considerably nearer the apex than the base. 

 Pterostigina absent. Abdomen long, slender, of about 

 uniform thickness throughout, bright blue, generally 

 with a greenish tinge towards the extremit}-. Anal 

 appendages bluntly terminated ; upper incurved at the 

 tip and there flattened, black ; lower shorter, straight, 

 black above, pale below. 



Female Imago. 



Metallic green takes the place of the blue of the male, 

 this colour being tinged with a copper}- tint towards the 

 extremity of the abdomen. The tenth segment has a 



