NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS. 53 



Wien, pp. 127-141 ; 1 plate and 15 text-figures), but, unfortunately, 

 it was too late to stop my own brief communication last montb (page 

 9), or to add a footnote. As Handlirsch's conclusions do not alto- 

 gether accord with mine, I hope very soon to discuss his valuable and 

 interesting paper. — G. W. Kirkaldy. 



SwAMMERDAM ON THE Dragonfly Nymph. — In connection with Mr. 

 Calvert's note in Entom. xxxiii. p. 350, it is interesting to find that 

 Swammerdam wrote in 1680: — "The limbs {i.e. of tl)e dragonfly 

 nymph) come out of the egg imperfect." He further states that he 

 does not know how long a period elapses between the laying of the egg 

 and its hatching, nor how long the nymph-stage lasts, though he 

 thinks the latter is two years — a result which Mr. East arrives at in 

 the case of JEschna cyatiea (see Entom. xxxiii. p. 258). The insect that 

 Swammerdam subjected to examination appears to have been a species 

 of Gomphus. I have made use of the English translation of his work, 

 'Biblia Nature,' by Dr. J. Hill, in 1758. By the way, eggs of Sym- 

 petrum striolatum hatch in captivity in three or four weeks. — W. J. 

 Lucas ; Kingston-on-Thames. 



Notes on British Dragonflies. — Ischnura pumilio. This pretty 

 little dragonfly was taken by my father, near Lyndhurst, in August, 

 1820 ; on Parley Heath, June 18th, 1824 ; on Knighton Heath, near 

 Dorchester, in July, 1835 ; at GlanviUes Wootton (two only), Aug. 

 17th, 1859. In a bog near Land's End (commonly), in August, 1864, 

 by my father and myself ; at Lodmore, near Weymouth (one specimen 

 at least), in May, 1887, by myself. It is recorded by Mr. Henry 

 Doubleday as occurring in old gravel pits at Epping (Ent. Monthly 

 Magazine for 1871-1872, p. 87). It has also been reported from 

 Cambridgeshire and Ireland (see De Selys Longchamps' paper on 

 British Libellulidse in ' Annals of Natural History ' for 1846). — Agrion 

 inercuriale. One taken by my father, in the New Forest, on June 

 12th, 1832 ; subsequently, at Winchester, on June 17th, 1882 ; and 

 at Cosmore Quay, about two miles from here, on July 1st, 1839, 

 and July 6th, 1844. — jEnchna rufescens (isosceles). This grand fellow 

 was taken by my father, sit Whittlesea Mere, on June 22nd, 1818, and 

 July 18th, 1827, by Mr. Sparshall, at Horning, on Auk. 5th. 1824. It 

 has also been reported from Halvergate and Yarmouth. The latter is 

 probably a mistake, hs the s[>ecies is omitted from Paszet's ' History of 

 Yarmouth.' — Lihiilida reniiiensis. Mr. Lucas gives this as = 5. sroti- 

 aim (see Entom. xxxiii. p. 2()0). 1 possess the specimen, and it de- 

 cidedly is not scuticuni, but tlie true tuhjatiuii. De Selys Longchamps 

 saw it in August. 1851, and told uiy fatlier he was right. It was taken 

 at Hull by Mr. Harrison. — Aj/rion zonnttnn (Entom. xxxiii. p. 200) is 

 cijatliigfrum. The late Baron de Selys came over to England to view 

 the Collection, SDecially of Curtis and Evans, and as the result, wrote 

 a paper on the British LibellalidiB in the ' Annals of Natural History ' 

 for 1846, vol. xxiii. — C. W. Dale ; GlanviUes- Wootton, Nov. 3rd. 



[Of the distribution of jE. isoscfhi; {nifescens must iiive way to the 

 prior name), I. pumilio, and A. vierciiriale, a summary will be found in 

 my ' British Dragonflies,' pp. 213, 270, and 297. The older captures 

 of Mr. J. C. Dale and others, though mentioned there as being 



