204 THE PLANIPENNIA. 



wards, but tlie abdomen is still retained in the pupa- 

 skin for some time. At length, however, it begins to 

 exert itself, and draws the abdomen out of its case, 

 which is left clinging firmly to its support, and after 

 waiting for an hour or two to allow its wings to 

 acquire their proper dimensions and firmness, the 

 liberated Dragon-fly darts off to carry on his old 

 trade of rapine and murder in a new sphere. 



Hemerobius Perla. 



With the Dragon-flies, those most active and vora- 

 cious of the denizens of the air^ we quit the series of 

 Neuropterous insects in which the larva, pupa, and 

 imago are alike active, and pass to a second suborder, 

 that of the 



Planipennia, 



in which the pupa is quiescent*, the organs of the 

 mouth are perfectly developed, and the wings, which 

 are naked and nearly equal in size, are laid flat upon the 

 back, or in a roof-like form upon the sides, without 

 any folding of the hinder pair. The antennae in these 



* It is to be observed, however, that the pupa acquires the 

 power of motion shortly before its appearance in the perfect 

 state, and is thus enabled to creep from the retreat in which it 

 has passed its period of repose, in order to select a suitable situ- 

 ation for undergoing its last change. 



