Catalogue of the Odonata of Ohio. 



*95 



CATALOGUE OF THE ODONATA OF OHIO. 



Part I. 



By D. S. KELivicoTT, Columbus. 



No catalogues or lists of the Dragonflies of Ohio have been 

 published ; indeed, these interesting insects have been so 

 utterly neglected by our naturalists, that in the catalogues of 

 the North American species, previously issued, only three 

 species are attributed to this State. These are Calopteryx 

 maculata, Tetragoneura semiaquea, and Libellula auripennis. 

 The collection on which this catalogue is based has been 

 made by myself and my students duiing the last three years, 

 and it is preserved in the Museum of the Ohio State Univer- 

 sity. I have not learned of the existence of any considerable 

 collection, public or private, made by others, which I could 

 consult;^ hence, very few species have been included in this 

 list which I have not myself taken or examined in the fresh 

 condition. Inasmuch as collecting has occupied so short a * 

 time, and has been confined largely to the central and north- 

 ern parts, it has been thought best to publish an account of 

 the species thus far taken as Part I, and to endeavor to ex- 

 plore the southern portions in the near future, publishing the 

 results as Part II. 



The number of species, at present, occurring within our 

 bounds appears to compare favorably with that of other re- 

 gions of the Mississippi Valley of corresponding latitude, 

 viz., 38 30' to 42 North. While lakes, ponds, and morasses, 

 which are favorable homes for the nymphs of the Odonata, 

 are not numerous, many and copious streams traverse the 

 State, and the great Ohio, the Beautiful River, on the south, 

 and Lake Erie on the north, with its numerous estuaries 

 and sheltered areas of reed-grown waters, compensate for the 

 unfavorable conditions of the State at large. Whether or not 



