156 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Diplax semi cincta of Say, or the half-girdled dragonfly, 

 is another common species in Massachusetts. It is found in 

 various localities, chiefly however in open places surrounded 

 by woods. It is nearly the size of the preceding, but is of a 

 reddish color, front of the head yellowish red with a broader 

 black stripe before the eyes ; sides of the thorax marked with 

 two yellowish spots, partly margined with black ; the abdomen 

 shorter than that of any other species of this genus yet found 

 in Massachusetts, and sometimes quite red, so as to attract 

 particular attention when on the wing, or reddish yellow in 

 some specimens. The wings are hyaline, or transparent, 

 excepting near the body, where about half of each hind wing 

 is reddish yellow, and about one-third of the anterior pair of a 

 lighter shade of yellow. The body is less than an inch and 

 a quarter in length, and the wings expand about 1.75. 



Diplax rubicundula of Say, or the light reddish dragonfly, is 

 another extremely common species, of a lighter color than the 

 preceding, with only the extreme base of the wings yellowish, the 

 rest being perfectly clear or hyaline ; the feet are black. The 

 wings expand over 2.10, and the abdomen is about 1.30 in length. 



Diplax elisa of Hagen, 

 the Elisa dragonfly, (figure 

 31,) is a less common but 

 very prettily marked spe 

 cies. The head is yellow- 

 ish in front, the thorax 

 and abdomen black, the 

 former with large greenish 

 yellow spots on the sides, 

 almost covering them, and 

 extending back upon the abdomen for one or two segments. 

 The latter appears black when looked at from above, with a 

 row of six or seven greenish yellow triangular spots. The 

 wings are hyaline, with the front margins near the shoulders 

 somewhat yellowish, or even spotted with fuscous on some of 

 the straight veins. Each of the fore-wings with three small 

 fuscous spots, one at the tip, one near the base, and one about 

 midway between them ; each of the hind-wings having the two 

 outer spots arranged in a similar manner, and the base with a 

 very large indented^ fuscous spot crossed by yellow veins, and 



Fig. 31. 



