66 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



hovering over the spot. By so doing I frightened the female, 

 and she came to the surface. The water did not seem to have 

 wetted her body ; in fact, when under the water, she appeared to 

 glisten as if surrounded with a coating of air. After making the 

 stroke, I found in the net a male Enallagma cyathigerum, and so 

 conclude that that was the species. Needless to say, I was 

 extremely pleased to observe this rather striking phenomenon. 

 It has been more than once mentioned of the genus Agrion, and 

 once at least of Lestes ; but it is a proceeding one would so little 

 expect that to have seen it is most satisfactory. 



About a week later, at the Black Pond, two or three pairs of 

 Pyrrhosoma nymphula caught my attention. They were flying 

 united per collum along a narrow ditch draining into the pond. 

 Presently one of these pairs went down to the water, and the 

 female settled on a floating leaf of Potamogeton, whilst the male 

 still held her, and remained with its body vertical and wings 

 horizontal. The female then moved the anal extremity of her 

 abdomen about over the leaf as if ovipositing. After two or 

 three minutes they flew away. On the under side of the leaf 

 were two roundish egg-like bodies ; but the insect did not appear 

 to touch the under side, nor did I expect an egg of nymphula to 

 be of that shape. On opening the abdomen of a female I found 

 a large number of cylindrical bodies with one end pointed and 

 the other rounded, about 1 mm. in length and *25 in greatest 

 breadth. They were colourless and semi-transparent, the con- 

 tents being granular, and no doubt were the eggs. On plucking 

 the leaf I could not at first find the eggs that had been laid. On 

 the next day, however, when it had withered, I closely examined 

 the dry leaf, and found some little ridges, which contained a long 

 cylindrical body resembling in size and appearance the bodies I 

 had taken from the female. These, which it is reasonable to 

 conclude were the eggs, were between the two cuticles of the leaf, 

 and therefore within its substance, where no doubt they were out 

 of the way of many enemies. 



Again, about a fortnight later, in the New Forest, I noticed a 

 pair of Platycnemis pennipcs united per coll. resting on a yellow 

 water-lily blossom. The female was again moving the anal 

 extremity of her abdomen along the surface of the stem, and, I 

 concluded, inserting eggs in it. After considerable difficulty I 

 managed to secure the blossom. The stem was closely examined, 

 both fresh and withered, but not an egg could be seen, though 

 I think they must have been there. Supposing oviposition was 

 taking place, it is worthy of note that the female was laying her 

 eggs above the water, although when the blossom of the water- 

 lily had withered the stem would be submerged again, for the 

 fruit of the yellow water-lily comes down to the surface, even 

 though the blossom may stand some inches out of the water. 



On June 1st, at a few minutes to 1 p.m., I noticed that a 



