46 INSECT LIFE IN POND AND STREAM 



to the very same leaf every time it returns 

 to rest. 



But the Dragon-fly has not always been so 

 bright and graceful. In his youthful days (as 

 is so often the case in the insect world) he 

 was anything but handsome. Indeed, he was 

 a most ugly creature, with a dark brown body 

 shaped something like a cigar, a large flat 

 head, great dull eyes, and a pair of wicked- 

 looking jaws ; and instead of passing his 

 time flying about in the sunshine he spent 

 his day in the dim light at the bottom of the 

 pool. 



The larva of the Dragon-fly is a clumsy 

 creature ; he cannot move about at all quickly 

 or gracefully though now and again he may 

 dart suddenly forward, in short, quick spurts, 

 by shooting out a jet of water from his tail. 

 He plods along slowly but steadily, twisting 

 his ungainly body over the floor of the pool, 

 or swims lazily through the water by sway- 

 ing himself from side to side, and he spends 

 hours together clinging to the stems of the 

 water weeds. 



But if he is not very nimble, the Dragon of 

 the pool is cunning. He may be slow, but he 

 is sure ; and he knows how to catch his dinner 



