﻿Proceedings 
  of 
  the 
  fourth 
  entomological 
  meeting 
  271 
  

  

  females 
  and 
  three 
  males 
  which 
  were 
  flying 
  round, 
  and 
  could 
  have 
  caught 
  

   more, 
  but 
  was 
  interested 
  in 
  observing 
  this 
  curious 
  habit 
  of 
  oviposition. 
  

  

  The 
  next 
  morning 
  I 
  returned 
  to 
  the 
  place 
  and 
  removed 
  some 
  of 
  

   the 
  soil 
  from 
  the 
  bank 
  where 
  the 
  females 
  were 
  seen 
  ovipositing. 
  On 
  

   examination 
  of 
  a 
  small 
  sample 
  four 
  eggs 
  were 
  found, 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  impossible 
  

   to 
  determine 
  how 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  laid, 
  as 
  the 
  earth 
  broke 
  up 
  in 
  removing 
  

   it. 
  The 
  eggs 
  sank 
  when 
  placed 
  in 
  water. 
  The 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  earth 
  was 
  

   placed 
  in 
  water 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  evening 
  a 
  young 
  larva 
  was 
  found 
  to 
  

   have 
  hatched 
  out. 
  

  

  It 
  should 
  be 
  added 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  water 
  in 
  this 
  culvert 
  and 
  there 
  

   can 
  only 
  be 
  water 
  here 
  when 
  it 
  rains, 
  and 
  the 
  nearest 
  standing 
  water 
  

   was 
  distant 
  over 
  one 
  hundred 
  yards. 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  strong 
  spine 
  of 
  the 
  female 
  ovipositor 
  one 
  would 
  have 
  

   expected 
  the 
  eggs 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  thrust 
  inside 
  the 
  stems 
  of 
  plants, 
  but 
  

   the 
  spine 
  is 
  a 
  digging 
  implement 
  in 
  this 
  case 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  noticeable 
  that 
  

   it 
  is 
  generally 
  found 
  broken 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  females 
  caught 
  on 
  the 
  wing. 
  

  

  Dr. 
  N. 
  Annandale 
  has 
  informed 
  me 
  that 
  he 
  found 
  another 
  iEshnine 
  

   dragonfly 
  {Aeshna 
  ornithocephala, 
  MacLacb.) 
  ovipositing 
  in 
  earth 
  at 
  the 
  

   edge 
  of 
  a 
  lake 
  in 
  the 
  Darjiling 
  District. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  Australian 
  

   Petalura 
  gigantea 
  also, 
  Tillyard 
  has 
  described 
  the 
  female 
  as 
  ovipositing 
  

   when 
  settled 
  on 
  or 
  near 
  the 
  ground 
  at 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  decaying 
  

   vegetable 
  mud 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  larva 
  is 
  found 
  to 
  make 
  regular 
  tunnels. 
  

   In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  Gynacantha 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  hatched 
  by 
  

   the 
  first 
  rain 
  (it 
  will 
  be 
  noted 
  that 
  the 
  larva 
  emerged 
  after 
  a 
  few 
  hours 
  

   when 
  the 
  egg 
  was 
  placed 
  in 
  water) 
  and 
  the 
  young 
  larvae 
  washed 
  down 
  

   into 
  the 
  nearest 
  permanent 
  accumulation 
  of 
  water. 
  

  

  This 
  was 
  a 
  most 
  interesting 
  find, 
  a 
  dragon-fly 
  laying 
  eggs 
  in 
  dry 
  Mr. 
  Fletcher, 
  

   earth. 
  They 
  usually 
  lay 
  in 
  water 
  or 
  in 
  water 
  plants. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  dragon-fly 
  referred 
  to 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Fletcher 
  as 
  mentioned 
  Dr. 
  Gravely, 
  

   to 
  him 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Annandale 
  as 
  ovipositing 
  in 
  earth 
  in 
  the 
  Darjiling 
  district, 
  

   there 
  was 
  a 
  marked 
  difference 
  in 
  habit, 
  which 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  accidental. 
  

   The 
  lake 
  in 
  question 
  is 
  a 
  permanent, 
  fairly 
  deep 
  one, 
  and 
  the 
  larvae 
  

   when 
  hatched 
  could 
  crawl 
  down 
  into 
  the 
  lake. 
  The 
  earth 
  where 
  the 
  

   eggs 
  were 
  laid 
  was 
  quite 
  moist. 
  This 
  dragon-fly 
  is 
  a 
  day-flier 
  and 
  was 
  

   noticed 
  in 
  the 
  morning, 
  but 
  belongs 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  group 
  as 
  Mr. 
  Fletcher's 
  

   species. 
  

  

  