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PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



VOL. 43. 



8. GOMPHUS PALLIDUS Rambur. 



This species was also fairly common at the riffles, but unlike pla- 

 giatus it frequently alighted on the river bank and was then compar- 

 atively easy to capture. Several tenerals were secured at Cloyds 

 Landing, Monroe County, Kentucky, that had just emerged on the 

 morning of July 23. Four of the larvae crawled out on the boat dur- 

 ing the night, and the soft imagos were found alongside the exuviae 

 the next morning. 



This species first appeared at some riffles about 30 miles below 

 Burnside, but quickly became common. 



It flies comparatively slowly and hovers a great deal; its wings 

 have a yellowish tinge, very visible when hovering; it often plunges 

 entirely beneath the water when capturing its prey, and then mounts 

 high in the air and seeks the tops of the tallest trees. When it 

 alights on a pebbly beach it hovers a moment and apparently feels 

 the rock, testing it before settling, and meanwhile holding its abdomen 

 pointing upward. It then settles down slowly, lowering the abdomen 

 until it is flat against the rock. In this position its colors harmonize 

 so well with its surroundings that it can be seen only in a favorable 

 light. It also frequently alighted on the boat, holding its abdomen 

 elevated at an angle of about 45°. 



9. DROMOGOMPHUS SPINOSUS (Selys). 



This species was common on the upper part of the river from the 

 Great Falls down to the State line. It was also obtained on the 

 Big South Fork, opposite Parker's Lake post office, in Pulaski 

 County, Kentucky. On the main river specimens were obtained at 

 Burnside, Mill Springs, Indian Creek Landing, Cloyd's Landing, and 

 Black's Ferry. It is quite active but alights frequently along the 

 shore and can then be captured. It is not confined to the vicinity 

 of rapid water like the two preceding species, but is found any- 

 where in sunny localities, usuall}^^ on rocky ledges. Like the pre- 

 ceding species it dives into the water for its food, but is satisfied 

 with ordinary underbrush or even the rocks as a dining place. In 

 ovipositing the females skim along very swiftly close to the surface 

 of the water, which they touch with the tip of the abdomen at long 

 intervals, without visibly checking their speed, after the manner of 

 Macromia. 



A male taken at Black's Ferry had the dorsal surface of the tenth 

 segment washed with greenish-yellow like the female. 



The newly emerged imago has a decidedly yellow dorsal stripe; 

 this then becomes olive, and in the old males gradually disappears 

 leaving the abdomen almost entirely black. 



10. BOYERIA VINOSA (Say). 



A single male was captured July 5 at the Great Falls, and two 

 other individuals were seen in the immediate vicinity. It was also 



