INDIAN DRAGONFLIES. 



51 



lee-side of a banyan tree bordering a hot, dusty highway. To such situ- 

 ations they appear to migrate from their breeding places which are usually 

 to be found at no great distance off, these being generally shallow 

 swamps or marshes. 



Genus — Tramea. 



Fig. 54. Wings of Tramea basilaris to show neutration. 



Genus Tramea, Hagen, 1861. 



Head very large ; eyes contiguous for a long distance, about equal to the 

 length of occiput ; vesicle large ; forehead broad and prominent, but with no 

 marked foreborder ; suture flush. 



Prothorax with a very small posterior lobe which is completely hidden 

 beneath the head. 



Thorax robust, cubical, very hairy, almost pilose. Legs very long and 

 slim ; the hind femora with a row of stout, widely-placed, gradually 

 lengthening spines; mid femora similar ; tibial spines robust, numerous; 

 claw-hooks robust, situated near the apex. Armature in the female very 

 similar. 



Wings very long, the fore moderately and relatively narrow, the hind broad; 

 reticulation close; trigone in the forewing 3 or 4 cells distal to the line of 

 the trigone in the hind ; sectors of arc fused for a long distance in the 

 forewing and running close together for some distance, in the hind a much 

 longer fusion ; arc lying between the 1st and 2nd antenodal nervures ; 

 antenodal nervures 10|^ to IH, the final incomplete; the distance between 

 the first two antenodals is much greater than the following ones ; 8th 

 nervure in the forewing from the anal angle of trigone, very short and only a 

 little convex, its outer end more or less lost in the general reticulation ; the 

 discoidal field on account of the shortness of the 8th nervure, but very 

 slightly dilated at the termen, usually parallel-sided iihroughout its extent, 

 4 rows of discoidal cells ; base of trigone in the hindwing at the arc ; only 1 

 cubital nervure to all wings ; no supplementary nervures to the bridge ; 

 trigone in the forewing extremely narrow and very long, usually traversed 

 twice; trigone in the hindwing long and narrow, eni ire ; all hypertrigones 

 entire ; subtrigone in forewing almost or quite square, with 6 or 7 cells, its 

 outer angle more or less lost ; 4th nervure straight, but the outer end bent 

 abruptly towards the termen; 5a strongly con cave, with 2 rows of cells between 

 it and 5 ; a well-marked accessory nervure running, about midway between 

 the 3rd and 4th nervures and parallel to both, but with a concavity towards 



