DRAGON FLIES 



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under the surface of the water in the act of depositing the eggs 

 has given rise to the belief that they were then engaged in sting- 

 ing something. The egg hatches into a form called a nymph, 

 which in the dragon fly is characterized by a greatly developed 

 lower lip. When the animal is at rest, the lower lip covers the 

 large biting jaws, which can be extended to grasp and hold its 

 prey. It may live as a nymph from one summer to as long as 

 two years in the water. It then crawls out on a stick, molts 

 by splitting the skin down the back, and comes out as an 

 adult. 



A closely related form is the damsel fly. This may be distin- 

 guished from the dragon fly by the fact that when at rest the wings 

 are carried close to the abdomen, while in the dragon fly they are 

 held in a horizontal position. 



Another near relative of the dragon fly is the May fly. These 

 insects in the adult stage have lost the power to take food. Most 

 of their life is passed in the larval stage in the water. The adults 

 sometimes live only a few hours, just long enough to mate and 

 deposit their eggs. These insects belong to the order Odonata. 



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A dragon fly that has just emerged from the nymph. 



