34 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Gomphus vulgatissimus, Linn., and C ordideg aster anmdatus, Latr. ; 

 and of these two I met with only one last season, C. annidatus. 

 On July 5th I secured three males in the New Forest, and also 

 had one brought to me that was taken the same day near Otter- 

 shaw, in Surrey. On Aug. 6th and 12th I took, in the New 

 Forest, sis specimens in all, only one of which was a female. 

 This dragonfly, in the Forest, in almost every instance was 

 flying backwards and forwards along the streams close to the 

 surface of the water, and it was usually not difficult to intercept 

 it in its course and effect a capture. None of the Odonata give 

 greater satisfaction than does this one, for, if ordinary care is 

 used in abstracting the contents of the abdomen, the insect in 

 the cabinet looks almost as bright as when it was freshly caught. 



Coming now to the Mschmda, we find eight species inha- 

 bitants of our islands : — Anax formosus, Lind., Brachytron 

 pratense, Mlill., /Eschua mixta, Latr., y®. horealis, Zett., 

 yS. jimcea, Linn., .E. cijanea, Miill., M. grandis, Linn., 

 jE. rufescens, Lind. ; and of these I met last season with all 

 except three — M. mixta, M. horealis, and M. rufescens ; but 

 with the exception of A. formosus, which was common at the 

 Black Pond, they appeared to me to be in smaller numbers 

 than usual. 



Of A. formosus I secured a good number of specimens, all but 

 one being males ; several, however, were in poor condition, the 

 cause perhaps being that they cut their wings when flying 

 amongst the reeds. They were taken on June 14th, 21st, 27th, 

 and July 11th and 19th, all at the Black Pond. On June 20th I 

 saw one taken at the Basingstoke Canal near Byfleet. At the 

 Black Pond, when not on the wing during the day, they seem to 

 rest down amongst the reeds ; but as their time for retiring 

 approaches they fly higher, amongst the firs, where probably 

 they roost. It is surprising at what a distance this dragonfly 

 can see a comparatively small insect, which, nevertheless, it 

 often turns away from when within a few inches of it. B. pra- 

 tense I saw at Wisley Ponds on May 17th, and near Byfleet on 

 May 23rd. Of .E. juncca I took but two — one, a female, at the 

 Black Pond on Sept. 15th, as she was resting on the surface of 

 the water ovipositing ; and a male on Sept. 16th at Wisley Ponds. 

 ^E. cyanea was seen on several occasions, notably at Bagley Wood, 

 Berks, in the middle of August, but no captures were made. I, 

 however, bred a female on April 26th, and another on May 25th. 

 One .E. grandis fell to my net on August 20th at Hincksey near 

 Oxford. I probably saw it first on July 11th, and last on 

 Sept. 9th. 



Both British species of the Calopterygidce I met with in large 

 numbers last season — Calopteryx virgo, Linn., in the New Forest; 

 and C. splendens, Harr., at many places in Surrey. C. virgo was 

 observed on July 5th, and again during the first fortnight in 



