THE GREAT DRAGON-FLY. 339 



The parent insect, towards the end of May, 

 when ready to deposit her eggs, seeks the warm 

 and sheltered sides of ponds or ditches. She drops 

 them on the surface, hovering at the same time up 

 and down just above. They immediately sink to the 

 bottom, and, after a little while, are hatched into 

 larvae of a dirty brown colour with six legs, and 

 bearing no resemblance whatever to the parent. 

 These are excessively voracious, and destroy with 

 their forcipated jaws multitudes of the weaker water 

 insects. This formidable apparatus is so constructed 

 as to fold over the face when at rest, and to be sud- 

 denly thrown forwards, when in action, to a con- 

 siderable extent. The chrysalis differs from the 

 larva only in exhibiting the rudiments of future 

 wings, which are enveloped in short cases or pro- 

 cesses on the back of the animal. After remaining; 

 in this state about two years, the animal ascends 

 the stem of some water-plant, and, sitting some time 

 in the sun-shine, gives birth to the insect in its per- 

 fect or ultimate form. This generally so disengages 

 itself from the skin of the chrysalis that it leaves 

 it in exactly its former appearance on the stem. 

 " About the beginning of May," says Mr. Bartram, 

 in the Philosophical Transactions, " I observed 

 many deformed water insects called Hexapodcs creep 

 out of the water and fix on shrubs and rushes. In 

 this situation they continued but a few hours before 

 their backs split open, and from the deformed crea- 

 tures sprung out beautiful flies with bright shining 

 wings, all of which in less than an hour afterwards 

 attained their complete dimensions.''* At the first 

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