1906.3 35 



hunt, and moved the boat with great skill. In the course of half an 

 hour I had sighted JEscJina Isosceles, but that was as far as I got ; 

 seeing and catching being two very different things with these crafty 

 insects. 



The next dragon-fly I saw, which stirred up my ambition to 

 secure it, was Lihellula fulva, and it was no small pleasure to pin it in 

 my collecting box. The total result for the day was ^schna isosceles 

 (3c^, 1 ? ),' Orthetriim cancellatum (5c^, 1 ? ), Libellula fidva (6 c?), 

 &nd Br achi/ Iron pr a fenss (I ^). The female O. cancellatum was se- 

 cured after much trouble, while depositing her eggs on a water lily 

 leaf. The following morning we were on the water by 10.30 o'clock, 

 the day was exceedingly hot with scarcely a breeze. I found the 

 weather suited the dragon-flies better than it did me, for although I 

 put more hours into sport, yet I put fewer captures into my box, for 

 the brilliant hot sunshine made them very shy. In one instance we 

 tried for three-quarters of an hour to take an /E. isosceles, gently and 

 quietly moving the boat till we got within four yards of it, but always 

 to find it moved as quickly as the boat did ; at last a false stroke with 

 the net settled the question for ever, as it always does with this insect, 

 for let it once know you want it, away it flies out of sight. 



While our boat was gliding among the water lilies in trying to 

 take this insect I noted Lestes sponsa, and plenty of Erythromma 

 naias, Agrion imlchellum, A. puella, and a few Libellula quadrimacu- 

 lata. I took a very nice suffused specimen of the last species, and 

 also secured one Gordulia cenea. My total bag of the three rare 

 species for this day numbered only ten, so I determined to go over 

 the same water again on the following day. We started at the same 

 time, and the weather was a repetition of the previous day. I secured 

 after several hours close searching two M. isosceles, which brought 

 my number up to seven. 0. cancellatum was well in evidence, I saw 

 three ? s, all of which are now in my cabinet ; I also took a couple 

 of cJs of the same species, and the same number of L.fulva. Of the 

 last insect I had now secured eleven, but I regret that not a single ? 

 was among the number. 



It will be observed that this article treats only of Odonata, but 

 1 may add that I devoted a good deal of time to Hymenoptera and 

 Lepidoptera ; and while " sugaring " for the latter I had some very 

 interesting experience with JE. isosceles. It appeared to me that 

 many of these fine dragon-flies leave the water at sunset and come 

 into the lanes to get their evening meal prior to roosting in the tops 

 of high trees. 



