NEUROPTERA. 



423 



brown, with the abdomen blue underneath : the female, of a sort of 

 olive-yellow, bordered by yellow on the sides. Both have the 

 abdomen broad and flattened. 



The ^Ss/ina, with a cylindrical abdomen, attains to the length of 

 two and a half inches. Its flight is more rapid than that of the 

 swallow. The Calepteryx flies more slowly. The male is of a 

 metallic blue, its diaphanous wings are traversed by a band of 

 greenish blue ; the female, of a bronzed green, has wings of a metallic 



Fig. 396. Male Raphidia. Fig. 397. Larva of a Raphidia. Fig. 398. Pupa of a Raphidia 



green, with a yellowish mark on the edge. These insects rest on 

 reeds, retaining their wings in a vertical position. 



The Agrions, which are of the same family, have the body white, 

 brown, or green, and the eyes very prominent. They are more slim 

 and graceful than the Libellulas, properly so 

 called ; their larva are very elongated. 



In the spring, one meets in the woods 

 with insects having large heads and elongated 

 thoraces. The females have a long auger, 

 with which to deposit their eggs under the 

 bark of trees, where their larvae, which feed 

 on insects, and twist themselves about like 

 small serpents, live. The pupae are also 

 very active ; they resemble the adults very 

 much, and have the wings laid against the 

 body. These insects, which are met with everywhere, but always 

 in small numbers, are the Raphidias, which we see represented 

 (Figs. 396, 397, 398) in the state of larva, pupa, and adult, and 

 the Mantispas (Fig. 399), one species of which is common in the 

 south of Europe. 



Fig. 399. Mantispa pagana. 



