128 INSECTS. 



test his powers, succeeded at last in working his jaws 

 only so far into the skin of the finger which held him, 

 as to produce a slight tinge of blood under the surface. 



Under ordinary circumstances it is certain he would 

 not have thought of attempting to bite. 



Terrible enough the Dragonflies must be, however, 

 amongst the smaller and feebler tribes of insects. Their 

 larva? and pupae are aquatic and exceedingly voracious, 

 feeding on every inhabitant of the water small enough 

 to be attacked. On land, or rather in the air, where, 

 swallow-like, the Dragonfly hunts and seizes its prey upon 

 the wing, they verily are flying dragons; and to a 

 hapless Fly the swift approach of one of these glittering 

 " devil's needles," as they are sometimes called, must be 

 terrible indeed. Their flight is remarkable, the Dragon- 

 fly being endowed with the power of changing its 

 forward course, and moving backwards or laterally with- 

 out the necessity of turning. 



There are about fifty species of Dragonflies in England, 

 which are divided into two families. 



To the first belong the very large Dragonflies fre- 

 quently to be met with flying up and down in shady 

 lanes in pursuit of prey, and which measure as much as 

 four inches from tip to tip of their powerful wings, and 

 three or four from end to end of their slender bodies. 

 These are species of the genus jEshna, or of the more 

 rare Anax. The shorter, flat bodied, dull blue, and 

 golden-brown Libellula, with others of the same genus, 

 but of more slender form and brilliant colouring, are 

 also of this family, which is distinguished by the wings 

 being always extended, even when at rest ; by the large 

 almost semi-globular head, and the immense eyes which 

 in most cases nearly or quite meet. 



