DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES IN PONDFISH CULTURE. 215 
Foop or DAMSELFLY Imacos, Fairport, Iowa, 1916—Continued. 
Enallagma hageni—Continued. 
Diptera—Contiuued. 
Dolichopodid-fly®.. stetssy:. hissed Uae are Porecpmprof Tos Captured while eating 
ASIEN OTT OG Boao he tele rs casfescee § shins occiaele Gate Do 
Couiga) atta Uh a bace Mia nt nes teal chien lth SR Do 
MsmuUlsum Oritatut. . vcs nc ae he ns slo cla nine ae Taken from mouth. 
Undetermined Thess 7) CAB BES, 29. e In alimentary canal. 
PGLpoieyay SPURT e yk MEET ST BO ay fa Sieh Captured while eating. 
INematonoraysp “1165 oa, <Gset < Sopa ty tye gansta hs Garman, 1917, p. 445. 
Lepidoptera—A ncyloxcypha numitor........-.00+ 00000 Captured while eating. 
Odonata— 
ASCENUTG UCLHICONS: One ee eee ae ae ee dae e Do. 
Enallagma, sp. (Qead)o-. destee cerca se aetna oe a els Seen eating. 
Ischnura verticalis: : 
Diptera— 
Midges Orahaclad sts § Sie cs tigs ic cigs “igs Pacha eile = “kage «of Captured while eating. 
Grass-stem fly, Geomyzidae....................... Do. 
Midge, CHTONOMUS, SPias cn te kt he cieciann sieves s- Do. 
rid efermined st ccsacwets ete. hue eae eae Do. 
Fepidoptera—ButterMiy a lohs eis. sacs delsiabisn)s pars deimreye «teal Garman, 1917, p. 445. 
Ischnura kellicotti: Diptera—Undetermined................ Williamson, 1899, p. 280. 
Lestes vigilax: Diptera, Nematocera. ...............02.02--5 Garman, 1917, p. 445. 
Argia mesta putrida: 
Coleoptera—Beetle, Berosus striatus... ........+.+0.00-- Captured while eating. 
Ephemeride— 
Mayfly —Calliabetes, sp. i... .c ieee eee tee elelewlel « Do. 
Mayfly Hepagenta; spi ase err elere brain as)ejenet Do. 
Hemiptera—Plant louse, Aphis, sp...............2.00-5. Do. 
Diptera— Undetermined flies....................2.-0-- In alimentary canal. 
Argia apicalis: Diptera—Nematocera...................... Garman, 1917, p. 445. 
Enallagma civile and E. antennatum: Diptera—Nematocera. Do. 
GENERAL STATEMENT.—Williamson (1899, p. 235) has given one of the best general 
statements. 
The food of the imagos consists almost entirely of other insects, though some are known to occa- 
sionally eat the flesh of dead animals. Of the insects eaten Diptera are more preferred than any other 
order, though all soft-bodied insects seem to fall a prey to their ravenous appetites. Larger species 
eat their smaller relations. Leaf hoppers and other Hemiptera and Lepidoptera are consumed. 
The above statements very strongly substantiate Williamson’s statement that the 
Diptera form a favorite food. Every odonate species included in them, with one 
exception, has eaten Diptera of some sort. And, curiously enough, all we know about 
the food of this one exception, Dromogomphus spoliatus, is derived from Williamson 
himself. Some of the species, such as Anax junius and Enallagma hageni, show a decided 
preference for flies and midges. The statement that the larger species eat the smaller 
ones is also well verified, even among the damselflies. 
Williamson also recorded on the same page that he once captured a dragonfly hold- 
ing a large wasp in its mandibles. There were two wasps in Poulton’s list of the prey 
of the Odonata (1906, p. 399), and honeybees were included in Campion’s list (1914, 
p- 499). The English paper Field for March 21, 1908 (p. 486), mentioned a bee keeper 
in Australia who complained that the dragonfly destroyed more of his bees than any of 
the birds. None of these records were American, but they serve to indicate that our 
