314 British Dragonflies. 



of water, into which the extremity of her abdomen 

 is allowed to dip, she may be induced to oviposit. 

 This method has been adopted with success in the 

 case of Sympetrum striolatiiiii , which insect, as well as 

 .S". scoticuiii, are species that will sometimes oviposit in 

 a pill-box without the inducement of the water. 



From the Q%'g proceeds a tiny nymph, about imm. 

 in length, which for its sustenance requires living beings 

 of still smaller size than itself The difficulty there- 

 fore arises of finding materials — water-weeds and mud — 

 containing such tiny creatures, and not at the same 

 time any, large or ferocious enough, to make a meal 

 of the nymph instead. Careful selection and close 

 examination are the means to be employed to attain 

 this end. The same care must be used in the selection 

 of any provender that it may be found necessary after- 

 wards to supply. A little material from a well-stocked 

 pool might be strained through muslin, and the residue, 

 after careful examination, be washed off into the vessel 

 containing the little n}-mphs. 



Since the nymphs at this age, amongst weeds or on 

 mud, are extremely difficult to \\-atch, most naturalists 

 will probably prefer to commence their study of them 

 at a somewhat later stage, and so will try to catch 

 the nymphs when partly grown. With this object 

 search should be made for them, especially between 

 the months of October and May,^ amongst the weeds 

 and dead leaves, or on the surface of the mud in ponds, 



*Mr. R. M. Whattson says that on the first day's thaw after a severe 

 frost on one occasion, he broke the ice (i^in. thick) on a pool and took 

 more nymphs than he would on a summer's day. They must have been 

 near the surface, as he broke a hole only large enough for the net. wliich 

 he swept round under the ice {in litt., January 24, 1897). 



