NEUROPTERA. 



407 



Libellula. 



LIBELLULA, Linnaeus, Geoffroy, 



Or Dragon Flies. The light and graceful figure of these insects, the beau- 

 tiful and variegated co- 

 lours with which they 

 are adorned, their large 

 wings resembling lus- 

 trous gauze, and the ve- 

 locity with which they 

 pursue the flies, &c., 

 that constitute their 

 food, attract our at- 

 tention and enable us 

 to recognise them with 

 facility. Their head is 

 large, rounded, or in 

 the form of a broad 

 triangle. They have 

 two great lateral eyes 

 and three ocelli situ- 

 ated on the vertex ; 

 two antennae, &c. The 

 female deposits her eggs 

 in the water. 



The larvae and the chrysalides inhabit the water until the period of their 

 ultimate metamorphosis, and, with the exception of wings, are tolerably simi- 

 lar to the perfect insect. Their head, however, on which the simple eyes are 

 not perceptible, is remarkable for the singular form of the piece which replaces 

 the lower lip. It is a kind of mask that covers the mandibles, maxillae, and 

 almost the whole under part of the head. 



Having attained the period of their ultimate metamorphosis, the nymphs 

 issue from the water, climb along the stems of plants, fix there, and divest 

 themselves of their skin. 



LIBELLULA, Fabricius, 



Or Libellula proper, where the wings are extended horizontally when at 

 rest. The head is almost globular, with very large, contiguous or closely 

 approximated eyes, and a vesicular elevation on the vertex, with an ocellus on 

 each side ; the other, or anterior ocellus is much larger. 



jEsHNA, Eabricius. 



The ^Eshnae resemble the Libellulse proper in their mode of bearing their 

 wings, and in the form of their head, but their two posterior ocelli are placed 

 on a simple transverse elevation in the form of a carina. The intermediate 

 lobe of the labium is also larger, and the two others are distant and armed with 

 a very stout tooth and spiniform appendage. The abdomen is always narrow 

 and elongated. 



