THAT DRAGON FLIES STING MEN 209 



mistake should be made by those who have never given 

 special attention to the manner in which insects are de- 

 veloped from the egg. But it is a curious fact that flies, 

 bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, etc., are as large at the 

 time they emerge from the cocoon or cell as they ever are 

 afterwards. All their growth is made while in the larval 

 condition that is as caterpillars or " worms." Hence 

 the voracity of the caterpillar and the so-called "worms" 

 of clothes moths. After the insect becomes mature it 

 never changes, and the difference of size in the flies with 

 which we are familiar is due to the fact that they are 

 different kinds or species. 



THAT DRAGON FLIES STING MEN AND OTHER 

 ANIMALS 



T is an old saying, "You might as well hang a 

 dog as give him a bad name." This is eminently 

 true of the dragon fly, of which there are a vast 

 number of species and to which many evil names 

 have been given. Thus it has been called "the devil's 

 darning needle," "the horse stinger," "the snake-feeder," 

 and other vile names. And amongst children whose edu- 

 cation in natural history has been neglected there is a very 

 prevalent belief that the devil's darning needle can go in 

 at one ear, pass through the head and come out at the 

 other ear, and that various dire diseases are the result of 

 this action on its part. 



Now it is a well-ascertained fact that the dragon fly is 

 one of our best friends; it has no sting and its biting appa- 

 ratus is so feeble that one may be safely caught in the 

 bare hand and held without injury to the captor. 



