NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 53 



Wien, pp. 127-141 ; 1 plate and 15 text-figures), but, unfortunately, 

 it was too late to stop my own brief communication last month (page 

 9), or to add a footnote. As Handlirscli's conclusions do not alto- 

 gether accord with mine, I hope very soon to discuss his valuable and 

 interesting paper.— G. W. Kirkaldy, 



SwAjiMERDAM ON THE Dhagonfly Nymph. — In coiinection with Mr. 

 CalverL's note in Eutom. xxxiii. p. 350, it is i)iteresting to find that 

 Swammerdam wrote in 1080: — "The limbs {i.e. of the dragonfly 

 nymph) come out of the egg imperfect." He further states that he 

 does not iaiow how long a period elapses between the laying of the eg» 

 and its hatching, nor how long the nymph-stai,'e lasts, though he 

 thinks the latter is two years — a result which Mr. East arrives at in 

 the case of .Esc/ma cyimea (see Entom. xxxiii. p. 258). The insect that 

 Swammerdam subjected to examination appears to have been a species 

 of Gomplnis. I have made use of the English translation of his work, 

 'Biblia Natura?,' by Dr. J. Hill, in 1758. By the way, eggs of Sym- 

 petnim striolatnin hatch in captivity in three or four weeks. — W. J. 

 Lucas ; Kingston-on-Thames. 



Notes on British Dragonflies. — Isclnmra pumilio. This pretty 

 little dragonfly was taken by my father, near Lyudhurst, in August, 

 1820 ; on Parley Heath, June 18th, 182-4 ; on Knighton Heath, near 

 Dorchester, in July, 1835 ; at Glanvilles Wootton (two only), Aug. 

 17th, 1859. In a bog near Land's End (commonly), in August, 1864, 

 by my father and myself ; at Lodmore, near Weymouth (one specimen 

 at least), in May, 1887, by myself. It is recorded by Mr. Henry 

 Doubleday as occurring in old gravel pits at Epping (Ent. Monthly 

 Magazine for 1871-1872, p. 87). It has also been reported from 

 Cambridgeshire and Ireland (see De Selys Longchamps' paper on 

 British Libellulidae in ' Annals of Natural History ' for 1846). — Ar/rion 

 mercuriale. One taken by my father, in the New Forest, on June 

 12th, 1832 ; subsequently, at Winchester, on June 17th, 1832 ; and 

 at Cosmore Quay, about two miles from here, on July 1st, 1839, 

 and July 6th, 1844. — ^Hschna rufescens (isosceles). This grand fellow 

 was taken by my father, at Whittlesea Mere, on June 22nd, 1818, and 

 July 18th, 1827, by Mr. Sparshall, at Horning, on Aug. 5th, 1824. It 

 has also been reported from Halvergate and Yarmouth. The latter is 

 probably a mistake, as the species is omitted from Paget's ' History of 

 Yarmouth.' — Libellula terunensis. Mr. Lucas gives this as = S. scoti- 

 cum (see Entom. xxxiii. p. 260). I possess the specimen, and it de- 

 cidedly is not scoticuin, but the true vnhiatuin. De Selys Longchamps 

 saw it in August. 1851, and told my fatlier he was right. It was taken 

 at Hull by Mr. Harrison. — Afirion zonatiim (Eatom. xxxiii. p. 260) is 

 ci/ai/iiffeiHDi. The late Baron de Selys came over to England to view 

 the collection, specially of Curtis and Evans, and as the result, wrote 

 a paper on the British Libellulid^ in the ' Annals of Natural History ' 

 for 1846, vol. xsiii.— C. W. Dale; Glanvilles-Wootton, Nov. 3rd. 



[Of the distribution of jE. isosceles [m/escens must give way to the 

 prior name), I. pumilio, and A. mercuriale, a summary will be found in 

 my ' British Dragonflies,' pp. 213, 270, and 297. The older captures 

 of Mr. J. C. Dale and others, though mentioned there as being 



