﻿By 
  J. 
  D. 
  Fouquet, 
  Sept., 
  1909. 
  

   Helgramite 
  and 
  Adult. 
  

  

  Explanation 
  of 
  Plate. 
  

  

  The 
  parent 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  Helgramite 
  " 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  true 
  dragonfly, 
  but 
  an 
  insect 
  allied 
  

   thereto, 
  with 
  dark 
  wings, 
  a 
  large 
  body, 
  and 
  longer 
  antennae 
  or 
  feelers. 
  

  

  It 
  flies 
  slowly 
  and 
  mostly 
  at 
  night, 
  and 
  is 
  attracted 
  to 
  electric 
  lights. 
  The 
  

   parent-fly 
  deposits 
  a 
  flat 
  cluster 
  of 
  eggs 
  attached 
  to 
  the 
  under 
  surface 
  of 
  a 
  stone 
  

   overhanging 
  a 
  stream. 
  This 
  cluster 
  is 
  about 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  a 
  cent 
  and 
  is 
  covered 
  

   with 
  a 
  hard 
  white 
  substance 
  that 
  protects 
  the 
  eggs 
  from 
  the 
  elements 
  and 
  from 
  

   enemies. 
  

  

  Early 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  or 
  late 
  summer, 
  the 
  tiny 
  larva? 
  hatch 
  from 
  the 
  eggs, 
  drop 
  into 
  

   the 
  stream, 
  and 
  catch 
  whatever 
  small 
  insects 
  they 
  can 
  for 
  food. 
  

  

  It 
  takes 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  years 
  for 
  one 
  to 
  become 
  fully 
  grown, 
  and 
  then 
  they 
  leave 
  

   the 
  stream, 
  crawl 
  under 
  a 
  stone 
  or 
  clod 
  of 
  earth, 
  and 
  transform 
  into 
  the 
  mature 
  

   insect. 
  

  

  The 
  above 
  is 
  from 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Institution, 
  Washington, 
  D. 
  C, 
  December 
  

   24, 
  1909. 
  

  

  