74 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS. 



skin bursts down the back, and out from the open- 

 ing the head and front legs of the dragon-fly are 

 pushed. The legs are thrown back as if to allow 

 them to harden by exposure to the air. Then they 

 are bent forward, and the stick immediately above 

 the old skin is grasped, and by this means the re- 

 mainder of the body is pulled forth. The creature 

 in its new dress appears wet, limp and exhausted. 

 The wings are represented by tiny wing pads 

 scarcely more than ^ inch in length. In less than 

 one hour their wings reach their full extent, becom- 

 ing .firm and hard. The beautiful full-grown 

 dragon-fly then soars away in search of food. This 

 consists of other insects which are captured as it 

 files through the air. 



It is well to keep the last nymph skin of the 

 dragon-fly, for if taken when still soft, and pinned 

 on to a piece of cork, the great mask or under lip 

 can be drawn out and observed well. The skin 

 then dries, and the specimen can be kept for future 

 use. 



We found a couple of shells in a cave at Clarence 

 Siding, Blue Mountains. The nymph had crawled 

 out of a small pool in the floor of the cave. 



As a rule, the large dragon-flies are solitary in- 

 sects, but an instance came under our notice where 

 they appeared in great numbers. At this particular 

 time mosquitoes were very numerous, but when 

 the dragon-flies came along, for a few days, there 

 was a noticeable decrease in their numbers. 



On one occasion, when quite close to some 

 sw^^mpy country at Long Bay, we found ourselves 



