LARVA OF THE DRAGON-FLY. 119 



other insects. These, when hatched, are also to 

 be reckoned among the larvae which prey upon 

 flesh, since they devour the bodies of the larvae in 

 which they have been deposited. They are thus 

 most useful to mankind in destroying the devourers 

 of his vegetable food. 



We may now see an instance yet more strange of 

 a carnivorous larva. We must wend our way to the 

 riverside in the months of May or June. There, 

 after a diligent search at the bottom, in some 

 moderately shallow portion of 

 the stream shall we find a 

 larva, the study of which might 

 well occupy us for many pages. 

 Yet it is the larva of an in- 

 sect well known to every 

 angler and brook -side wan- 

 derer the dragon-fly. This 

 larva is provided with one of 

 the most remarkable contriv- 

 ances for seizing its prey and 

 conveying it to its mouth, of 

 any being in the zoological kingdom. By the 

 assistance of the engraving, we may perhaps be 

 able to render this apparatus, which is somewhat 



