SOMATOCHLORA 183 
in the depths of the lateral sutures underneath the hairs. Legs blackish. Wings 
hyaline spotted with brown, and with a bright golden fleck in the midst of the 
brown on the base of the hind wings. Dorsum of the abdomen brownish black, 
except for the basal third of the second segment, which bears a pair of submediau 
reddish triangles. On the lower side margins of segments 2 to 8 are obscure yel 
lowish spots. Appendages black. 
This little species flies swiftly and dodges readily, but is not very 
hard to capture, for it shows little disposition to avoid the collector’s 
net. It generally flies close in shore and low over the water. It flies in 
June. 
The nymph lives in the trashy places in the edges of the water of 
upland lakes and ponds and clambers only a few inches upward above 
the surface to transform. 
144. Helocordulia selysi Hagen 
Hag. ’78, p. 189: Mtk. Cat. p. 124: Kndy. ’24, p. 1. 
Length 38 mm. Expanse 54 mm. Ga., N.C. 
This species is very similar to H. uhleri, lacking the golden fleck in the midst 
of the black at the wing base, and having the brown more restricted to droplets 
enveloping cross veins, especially antenodal cross veins, and the cross vein in 
the anal triangle of the male. This species is southern, and that one is northern 
in range. This one seems to be much less common. 
It is an early spring species (March and April), to be met with in 
open sunny glades in the woods. Kennedy (’24, p. 1) found its cast 
skin on the side of a boat-house that stood on the bank of a mud- 
bottomed artificial pond, at Raleigh, N. C. 
32. SOMATOCHLORA SELYS 
Ringtails 
By Elsie Broughton 
This is a genus of 36 described species, 21 of which are represented in 
North America. They are metallic green or blue in color, with or with- 
out lateral thoracic pale spots or stripes. Face is yellowish and the 
upper surface of the frons and vertex partly or wholly metallic. Legs 
usually black. Wings hyaline, sometimes with a varying amount of 
flavescence or even a basal brown tinge. Veins M, and Cu, of the fore 
wing are approximated towards the wing margin. The anal loop has a 
bisector and is asymetrically by truncate at its distal end. 
Although these dragonflies may be abundant locally they are not 
widespread, and not captured in great abundance. Walker ’25 has dis- 
cussed their habits and their habitat quite fully in his outstanding work 
