DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSE^IyFLlES IN PONDFISH CULTURE. 233 



and the forms which develop in the brackish drains and pools near tide, where they are covered twice 

 each day by salt water, can not flourish in fresh water. Accordingly, for the littoral belt from Long 

 Island to Beaufort, N. C, I would select Diplax {Erythrodip lax) berenice, Lihellula auripennis, and 

 Mezothemis (Pachydiplax) longipennis. For the region next inland from this multitudes of common 

 species could be had, such as Anax Junius, Mschna {Epiceschna) heros, Libellula pulchella, L. luciuosa, 

 L. semifasciata, Plathemis trimaculata (lydia), and most of the species of Diplax (Sympetrum). On the 

 clear streams which rush down from the hills Cordulia, Epitheca (Epicordulia), and Gomphus prevail. 



The above statement is just as good to-day as when it v^as vv^ritten, only we must 

 extend the area west of the Allegheny Mountains to cover the entire breadth of North 

 America, and we must include damselflies as well as dragonflies. For the region east 

 of the Alleghenies good damselflies would be Lestes rectangularis, Ischnura verttcalis, 

 I. posita, Enallagma civile, E. hageni, and Anomalagrion hastatum. 



For the Mississippi Valley some of the desirable odonate species would be Anax 

 junius, j^Eschna constricta, Epicordulia princeps, Tramea lacerata, Libellula luctuosa, L. 

 pulchella, Erythemis simplicicollis, and Plathemis lydia, and local species of Argia, Isch- 

 nura, Enallagma, and Lestes. 



West of the Rocky Mountains, Anax, Erythemis, Tramea and Plathemis would 

 still remain, the species of ^schna and Libellula and of the four genera of damselflies 

 could simply be changed to suit the locality, and Sympetrum could be added. 



High up among the mountains Anax and Sympetrum, Libellula quadrimaculata, 

 and Leucorrhinia glacialis, with local species of Enallagma and Lestes, would be most 

 suitable. 



It will appear at once that certain of the desirable forms, such as Anax, L. pulchella, 

 P. lydia, and the damselfly genera Argia, Enallagma, and Lestes are very cosmopolitan, 

 and their wide distribution increases by so much the chance that they will succeed 

 wherever they may be introduced. They constitute, therefore, the very best stock 

 material available, but still demand certain conditions if they are to be reared success- 

 fully. For example, the Anax female inserts her eggs into the tissue of the stems of 

 water plants, and hence cat-tails, arrowhead, rushes, or some such water plant must 

 be provided if this dragonfly is to breed in any numbers. On the other hand, Erythemis 

 takes most kindly to floating blanket algae; the damselflies insert their eggs in the 

 stems of all kinds of water plants, occasionally above the surface (Lestes, etc.), though 

 usually below it, the female sometimes descending several inches beneath the water 

 for ovipositing. 



The dragonfly genus Epicordulia deposits its eggs in long ropes of jelly coiled 

 about the stem of some convenient water plant, while the great majority of the Libellu- 

 lids deposit their eggs anywhere in clear water by hovering over the surface and 

 repeatedly striking the water with the tip of the abdomen. In the latter case the 

 eggs sink to the bottom separately and are fastened by the jelly that surrounds them 

 to anything they may come in contact with. Hence for these different odonates the 

 fishpond must -contain water plants, with stems both above and below the surface, 

 floating algae, and plenty of open spaces. 



Preparation the Pond. — No special preparation is required, because when a 

 pond is suitably prepared for fish it will contain the requirements just enumerated and 

 will be ready also for the dragonflies. While the condition of the embankments around 

 the pond can not affect the fish or the nymphs in the water, it can and does exert an 

 important influence on the odonate imagos. A total absence of trees, shrubs, bushes, and 



