147 

 SOME NEW INDIAN DRAGONFLIES. 



BY 



Major F. C. Eraser, i.m.s. 



During the year, 1919, quite a number of new species have been added to 

 -the list of In lian Odonata and amongst them are two new species of Gmia- 

 cantha. One of these, viz., G. bainhr'myi, was taken by Mr. Bainbrigge 

 Fletcher at Gauhati, Assam, the other species by myself at Poona, of which 

 the following is the description : — 



Gynacantha millardi, sp. nov. 



Several male^ and femalea, Poona, Bombay, Deccan, October-November and 

 February to March. 



Male and female alike. 



Head labrum, face and frons pale green without any markint^s. (The 

 ■usual T-shaped mark is absent in this species.) Eyes in juvenile specimens 

 a deep blue, in adults an olive green with a dark brown cap above. 



Prolhorax and thorax bright foliage green, the female having a brownish 

 tinting on the dorsum. No markings whatever. 



Abdomen a pale fawn, the sides of the first three segments green as in 

 the thorax and more so in the male than in the female. Ore illets brown. 



Anal appendages very narrow and long, especially in the male, fringed in- 

 ternally with lougish hairs. Legs brown. 



Wings long and broad, hyaline, stigma a pale brown. Forewing with 19 

 annodals, hindwing 14, forewing with 13 postnodals, hindwing 15, 

 hypertrigones with 3 nervures, trigones with 3, the inner with a nervure 

 running from its centre to the proximal side, loop with 10 cells. 



Length of hindwing 44 mm., of abdomen 46 mm. 



This species is a night-flyer, not appearing on the wing until dusk, after 

 which it can be seen for a longtime silhoutted against the sky as it flits 

 swiftly up and down. Its principal food appears to be mosquitoes. There 

 appear to be two broods during the year, the one appearing in October and 

 lasting until the end of November, the other in February when teneral 

 specimens are seen. It is moderately plentiful during the whole of 

 March and disappears abruptly from the beginning of April. 



Tribe AGRIONINI. 



Mortonagrion, gen. nov. 



Head not bearing any post-ocular spots but the eyes margined inwardly 

 • and narrowly with bright colouring. 



Protkorax simple, the posterior lobe large and prominent, broadlj' arched. 



Thorax with the anterior border laminated and projecting forward to 

 mesh with the posterior lobe of the prothorax. 



Abdomen very slender, very gradually dilating from the 7th to the 10th 

 segment. Anal appendages highly specialised, 10th segment with a bifid 

 dorsal tubercle. 



Wings hyaline, petiolation ceasing proximal to " ac", stigma equal in 

 both wings, rhomboidal but the distal and posterior borders rather longer 

 than the proximal and costal respectively, arc distal to the i^nd antenodal 

 nervure, its distance from that nervure being equal to the length of the 

 costal border of the quadrilateral, postnodal nervures 7 to 9. " ac" nearer to 

 the 2nd antenodal nervure in the hindwing, about midway in the forewing, 



