Dragon-flies and Damsel-flies yy 



wingless creatures from half an inch to two inches long. Occasionally 

 one of these creatures suddenly darts forward by spurting water from 

 the hinder tip of its body; occasionally one quickly thrusts out from 

 its head a vicious pincer-like organ which is more slowly withdrawn, or 

 rather folded up, with an unfortunate tiny water-animal squirming in the 

 toothed pincers. Still dragons, though now dragons of the deep instead of 

 flying dragons, these are our insects in their immature or larval life. Their 



Fig. 112. — Young (nymph) dragon-fly, showing lower lip folded and extended. (From 

 Jenkins and Kellogg; twice natural size.) 



prey, consistmg of water-bugs, May-fly larvae, small crustaceans, mol- 

 lusks, and any of the numerous aquatic insect larva?, including other 

 young dragon-flies, is probably always caught ahve. Not by active 

 pursuit, as in the air above, but by lying in wait in the murky depths 

 of the pond until the unsuspecting insect comes within reach of the 

 extensible lower lip with its pair of broad spiny, jaw-like flaps at the 

 clutching tip. The fierce face of the young dragon, with its great 

 mouth and sharp jaws, is all concealed by this lip when folded up, 

 and there is little in the appearance of the dirty, sprawling, smooth- 

 faced creature to betray its dragon-like character. But appearances in 

 the insect world may be as deceptive as in our own, and too late the 

 careless water-bug out on a foraging swim for lesser prey finds himself in 

 range of a masked battery and becomes the preyer preyed upon. 



About three hundred different species of dragon- and damsel-flies 

 (damsel-flies are the smaller, slender-bodied, narrow-winged kinds, see Fig. 

 113) are known in North America, about two thousand having been found 

 in all the world. In any single locality where conditions are at all favor- 

 able to dragon-fly life, that is, where there are live streams and ponds, from 

 a score to two or three times as many different dragon-flies can be found. 

 One hundred species occur in Ohio, and one hundred and twenty in New- 

 York, states offering specially favorable natural conditions for them, while 

 only about fifty species have been found in California, a much larger but 

 more arid region. The young of no dragon-fly species is known to live in 

 salt water, although nymphs have been found in brackish water and in 



