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THE BRITISH NATURALIST. 



["June 



July. The Agrions chiefly frequent boggy ground and moist meadows 

 in the vicinity of some stream or pond. In similar situations we may 

 also encounter the two lovely Demoiselles, Caloptevyx vivgo and C. 

 splendens. 



Both of the latter insects, however, possess a special predilection 

 for brooks and shady streams in woods and forests, where they may 

 frequently be seen flying about in. all their glory, their beautiful wings 

 glittering in the sun just like two pairs of fan-shaped pearls. 



In the New Forest in Hampshire, Wyre Forest in Worcestershire, 

 as well as in many other " happy hunting grounds " in this country, 

 I have frequently been an admiring witness to their fairy-like flight — 

 which however I have fully described in my little work on these 

 interesting insects. In the accompanying plate a very typical 

 Dragonfly scene is depicted and one which I have no doubt every 

 practical Dragonfly hunter has witnessed upon many an occasion 

 when in pursuit of these winged gems. Although it is not supposed to 

 represent any place in particular it bears a very close resemblance to 

 at least two or three delightful spots in the New Forest which I have 

 visited. The largest specimen represented on the plate is a male 

 individual of the beautiful Blue-banded Demoiselle {Caloptevyx splendens) 

 which, as its popular name implies, posseses a bluish band in the 

 centre of its wings, the apices and bases being hyaline ; in the female, 

 however, the wings are uniformly of a pale greenish colour. In both 

 sexes the thorax and abdomen are of a magnificent metallic blue or 

 green. (The other species of Demoiselle which is not represented, 

 namely, the Steel-blue Demoiselle ( Caloptevyx vivgo ) has its wings 

 entirely blue in the male, brownish in the female, their body also being 

 adorned with the same brilliant colours as their relative). 



The smaller species depicted in the engraving is the Crimson Agrion 

 (Pyvvhosoma minium) a very common and familiar species of Dragonfly, 

 of a bright red or crimson colour, spotted and banded with black and 

 yellow. This species, in company with several other sorts belonging 

 to the same family, may sometimes be encountered in scores in damp 

 situations during the months of May and June, and when disturbed 

 will occasionally rise up in clouds from amidst the tall herbage which 

 affords them shelter, their transparent wings glittering in the sunshine 

 with a splendid iridescence of colouring. A detailed description of all 

 these interesting insects together with a full account of their habits 

 and metamorphoses, &c, will be found in my " Illustrated Handbook 

 of British Butterflies." 



In conclusion I may say that I shall be very pleased at all times 

 to name and identify any specimens of Demoiselles, Agrions and other 

 British Dragonflies which readers of the " British Naturalist " care to 



