VORACITY OF THE DRAGON-FLY LARVA. 273 



itself a voracious and formidable creature, being- furnished 

 with two enormous curved jaws, and in form almost exactly 

 resembling' the larva of the Dyticus shown on Plate III. Fig. 4. 

 Thinking that the larva would be very well able to take care 

 of itself, I put it into the basin, intending next morning to 

 observe through th(5 microscope the fringed apparatus at the 

 end of the body. But, at a very early hour next morning, the 

 larva had vanished. I knew that it was physically incapable 

 of crawling out of the vessel, and at last, after a strict search, 

 I found one of its large mandibles lying at the bottom of the 

 basin, the only vestige that the voracious Dragon-fly larva had 

 left of its victim. 



Since that enormous meal the larva has changed into a. 

 pupa, and is just as restless and voracious, and has completed 

 its course of destruction by killing and eating its companion, 

 the contents of whose body it has completely scooped out. 



Although neither in the larval nor pupal state does it 

 possess the vivid colours with which the perfect insect is 

 adorned, it is yet possessed of a certain beauty. The colour of 

 the body is pale brown, but the legs are as translucent as if 

 made of horn and banded at regular intervals with small 

 dark-brown stripes. Along the sides, each segment of tlie 

 body is furnished with two sharp and projecting spikes, which 

 point towards the tail. In consequence of this structure, the 

 creature is a difficult one to hold, wrigoling itself like a snake 

 when held in the fingers, and gradually working its way through 

 them. The best way of examining these curious beings is to 

 take one of them and place it in a shallow saucer, with just 

 enough water to cover it. The under surface can be observed 

 in the same vessel ; for, if the larva be laid on its back, it 

 gives a few struggles and then seems to acquiesce in its posi- 

 tion, lying perfectly still, and allowing the lens to be placed 

 close to its body without appearing to be in the least 

 alarmed. 



The particular larva that has been described is that of 

 JEshna grandis, one of our largest Dragon-flies, but the de- 

 scription will suit almost any species, their general form and 

 habits being very much alike. 



When the pupa has nearly completed its time it ceases to 

 feed, and the respiration seems difficult and laboored. An 



T 



