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DRAGON FLIES. 



By Joseph Williams, London, Ontario. 



In the months of July and August there are few insects more abundant than the Dragon 

 flies, and none which attract more attention from even the most indiflferent observer, and a de- 

 scription of the more common kinds and some account of their habits may not be uninterest- 

 ing. For the following account we are largely indebted to the graphic description of A. S. 

 Packard, Jun., in our " Common Insects." 



In various countries these insects have received various popular names — the French call 

 them Demoiselles ; the Germans, Florfliegen or Gauze-flies, or Wasserjungfern or Virgins of 

 of the Water ; while the English style the Dragon flies, Horse-stingers, or Devil's Darning- 

 needles. The English terms, although less poetical than those of our European friends, are, 

 we believe, more appropriate to the private character of these insects. 



The accompanying illustration of one of our most common species (^LiheUvla trimaculata), 



Fig. 42, will give an idea of the appearance 

 of these insects. Of the general character 

 of the group Packard says : — " Were we 

 to select from among the insects a type 

 of all that is savage, relentless, and blood- 

 thirsty, the Dragon fly would be our 

 choice. From the moment of its birth 

 until its death, usually a twelvemonth, it 

 riots in bloodshed and carnage. Living 

 beneath the waters, perhaps eleven months 

 of its life, in the larva and pupa states, 

 it is literally a walking pitfall for luck- 

 less aquatic insects ; but when trans- 

 formed into a fly, ever on the wing in 

 pursuit of its prey, it throws ofi' all con- 

 Fi„ 42, cealment, and reveals the more unblush- 



ingly its rapacious character. 

 " Not only does its horrid visage and ferocious bearing frighten children, who call it the 

 ' Devil's Darning-needle,' but it even distresses older persons, so that its name has become a 

 by -word. Could we understand the language of insects, what tales of horror would be re- 

 vealed ! What traditions, sagas, fables, and myths must adorn the annals of animal life 

 regarding this dragon among insects I 



" To man, however, aside from its bad name and its repulsive aspect, which its gay trap- 

 ]iinga do not conceal, its whole life is beneficent. It is a scavenger, being like that class ugly 

 and repulsive, and holding literally, among insects, the lowest rank in society. In the waters 

 it preys upon young mosquitoes and, the larva of other noxious insects. It thus aids in 

 maintaining the balance of life, and cleanses the swamps of miasmata, thus purifying the air 

 we breathe. During its existence of three or four weeks above the waters, its whole life is a 

 continued good to man. It hawks over pools and fields and through gardens, decimating 

 swarms of mosquitoes, flies, gnats, and other baneful insects. It is a true Malthus' delight, 

 and following that sanguinary philosopher, we may believe that our Dragon fly is an entomo- 

 logical Tamerlane or Napoleon sent into the world by a kind Providence to prevent too close 

 a jostling among the myriads of insect life. 



" We will then conquer our repugnance to its ugly looks and savage mien, and contem- 

 plate the hideous monstrosity — as it is useless to deny that it combines the graces of the 

 Hunchback of Notre Dame and Dickens' Quilp, with certain features of its own — for the 

 good it does in Nature. 



" Even amona insects, a class replete with forms the very inournation of ugliness and 

 the perfection of all that is hideous in nature, our i)ragon fly is most cuuspicuous. Look at 

 its enormous head, with its beetling brows, retreating lace, and heavy under-jaws — all eyes 

 and teeth — and hung so loosely on its short weak neck, sunk beneath its enormous hunch- 



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