202 THE LIBELLULINA. 



arranged that it can be folded up into a very small 

 compass beneath the head of the insidious little 

 destroyer. It is composed of a basal piece, by which 

 it is attached to the lower surface of the head, and 

 which is folded back in repose ; and of a second much 

 longer piece, attached to this by a sort of hinge, 

 which is folded forwards so as to close the aperture 

 of the mouth, and which bears a pair of moveable, 

 toothed, jaw-like organs upon its dilated anterior 

 part. In repose it will be easily understood that the 

 whole of this formidable apparatus will be concealed 

 beneath the head, but it is equally clear that by the 

 sudden extension of the basal piece, the whole appa- 

 ratus can be darted forwards to a considerable distance, 

 when the powerful, jaw-like organs at the apex may 

 easily seize any unwary victim which has strayed 

 within their reach. 



The female Dragon-fly deposits her eggs in the 

 water, usually on the stems of aquatic plants, to 

 which she clings above the surface, and then im- 

 merses her abdomen as far as she can reach. Some- 

 times, according to an observation communicated by 

 Mr. Patterson to Mr. Westwood, the females of the 

 genus Agrion even descend below the surface to a 

 considerable depth. The larvae hatched from these 

 eggs possess six well-developed legs, and present a 

 distant and rather ugly resemblance to the perfect 

 insects; the pupae also, which still move about and 

 feed voraciously, scarcely exhibit a much closer ap- 

 proach to the condition in which they will be num- 

 bered amongst the most beautiful and active denizens 

 of the air, although the cases in which their large 

 wings are enclosed form a prominent feature in their 

 appearance. 



