128 INSECT BEHAVIOR 



eyes would avail him nothing and he would be ignorant of the details 

 of what passed without. 



And so with the insect, I believe it is the glass in the tiny honey 

 comb sash that governs its sight; and through these minute windows 

 the photographs illustrating this article were taken. Whether we 

 observe this through a microscope, as we have done, or with a hand 

 glass or the naked eye, we will arrive at the same results that we have 

 already seen by our experiments. 



Doubtless some insects see more clearly than others. Crickets 

 jump at the slightest movement of an object many feet away and 

 appear to be so gifted. The robber fly 1 captures its prey upon the 

 wing, darting after it as it passes by, but of all these creatures who 

 use their eyes to advantage, the dragon flies are, in the opinion of the 

 writer, the only insects who depend more upon their eyes than any 

 other of their sense organs. 



Dragon flies are primarily predacious creatures, feeding chiefly 

 upon mosquitoes, gnats, house flies and other alert and winged insects. 

 They dart upon their prey with the ease and swiftness of a hawk, often 

 from a great distance, seldom missing their unfortunate quarry. A 

 glimpse at the typical dragon fly race, strengthens the theory that they 

 are possessors of accurate eye sight. The eyes are huge, covering two- 

 thirds of the creature's head, while the antenna? or feelers, which are 

 the usual sense organs of direction in insects, are scarcely noticeable, 

 hair-like appendages. To connect these primary features with the 

 creature's habits, can only lead to one conclusion that the dragon 

 flies are possessed of clear eye sight and are exceptions to the general 

 rule. 



1 Asilidae. See Fig. 66. 



