96 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [7 14— Apr., 1911 



a glass dish or a small wooden pail. Either water plants must 

 be provided, or the water must be changed occasionally. The 

 nymphs may be fed weekly on raw meat or water insects. A 

 .stick should be placed upright in the water for the insect to 

 crawl up on when it undergoes its transformation. 

 Observations 



1. What is the nymph's food? 



Place some larvae and pupae of the mosquito in the dish 

 with the nymph and note whether they are eaten. How does the 

 nymph catch its food? What is the position of its jaw when not 

 in use? 



2. How does it move ? 



Does the nymph come to the surface? How can it breathe? 

 What means of locomotion has it? To see how the animal moves, 

 take it out and place it in a tumbler containing a little water. 

 Place a drop of ink near the tip of the abdomen. Watch each 

 morning for the transformation into the adult. 



Place the adult in a cage together with a tumbler of water 

 containing mosquito wigglers. When these have passed into 

 the adult state, note whether they are eaten by the dragon fly. 



Is the dragon fly able to sting a human being? Can you ex- 

 plain the origin of the name "darning needle", and of the idea 

 that it is dangerous ? 



Drawings 



Make drawings of the nymph as seen from above and also 

 as seen from the side. Make drawing of the adult when at rest. 



Literature (for children) 



Lovejoy's "Nature in Verse", page 176; Rand's "Treasures 

 of Canadian Verse", page 273 ; Daulton's "Wings and Stings", 

 page 71 ; Tennyson's lines on the dragon fly. 



References (for teacher) 



Comstock's "Insect Life" ; Needham's "Outdoor Studies" ; 

 Miller's "The Brook Book". 



