232 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
Ameiurus meias, contained 6 Enallagma hageni imagos, and the stomach of a largemouth 
black bass contained 22 Enallagma antennatum imagos. 
In a record made by Mr. Schradieck of the food of the largemouth black bass in 
ponds 2 and 3 D, a fish 48 mm. in length had for its stomach contents 95 per cent damsel- 
fly imagos and 5 per cent Chironomid larve. Another fish, 82 mm. long, contained 
nothing except a few damselfly imagos; a third, 65 mm. long, contained 50 per cent 
damselfly imagos and 20 per cent odonate eggs. 
H. L. Canfield, superintendent of fish culture at the Fairport station, told the 
author that he had fed Anax imagos to largemouth black bass at Homer, Minn. The 
fish seized them avariciously and apparently swallowed them, but in a moment or two 
spit them out again. Perhaps the Anax was too large a mouthful for them, for the 
bass at Fairport certainly swallowed imagos of L. Juctuosa, Erythemis, Plathemis, and 
Leucorrhinia and kept them down. 
STOCKING THE FISHPOND. 
Having tried to show, it is hoped with some success, that dragonflies and damsel- 
flies and their nymphs are not only desirable additions to the fauna of fishponds but 
that they may even prove of considerable importance, there remains the problem of 
obtaining a sufficient number of the right kind with which to stock a pond. How 
can this best be accomplished? With reference to the dragonflies several methods may 
be suggested and briefly discussed. Embody stated in The Farm Fishpond (1915, 
p. 242) that after the pond has been completed and filled with water: 
The aquatic plants should be the first organisms to be putinto the pond * * * The forage 
animals should be collected next. As has been stated, until more is known about the propagation of 
aquatic insects it will be impossible to give definite and reliable directions for their introduction. 
Certain desirable forms will naturally be attracted to the pond for egg laying, and for the present this 
natural method of propagation is the only one to be depended on. 
Of course dragonflies will be among the insects naturally attracted to the pond 
for egg laying, but it is desired that the pond be stocked at once and with the kinds 
most available for forage food. The author believes that, so far as the odonates are 
concerned, we already possess sufficient knowledge to enable us to take the initiative, 
and not only to introduce desirable species, but also to exercise considerable control 
over their subsequent abundance. 
CHOICE OF DRAGONFLY SPECIES.—The species of dragonfly best suited to any 
particular fishpond is not by any means necessarily the one that has been tried success- 
fully elsewhere. The condition of the pond and its environment will have as great an 
influence upon the dragonflies as upon the fish with which it is stocked. In general, a 
common local species of dragonfly will be far better than one imported from a distance. 
A visit to neighboring ponds and quiet streams and a careful comparison of their con- 
ditions and surroundings with those of the proposed fishpond will be the proper 
method of choosing the species. Find a place as close to the fishpond and as similar 
to it as possible, and use this as the source from whence to obtain the stock material. 
In 1889 Dr. P. R. Uhler, at that time one of the best authorities upon the dragon- 
flies, wrote the following to Dr. Robert H. Lamborn (1890, p. 12) in reference to the 
breeding of dragonflies for the purpose of killing off mosquitos: 
As I have raised all the common forms of our Atlantic coastal-plain region, I know that the dragonfly 
larve can be reared in vast numbers. Of course, you know that each locality supports its own species, 
