THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



157 



But numbers of small demoiselle dragonflies are darting about above the 

 stream or resting on the water lily leaves. We will capture some of them. 

 This specimen we have here, you see has the eyes wide apart from each other, 

 and both fore and hind-wings are alike in shape. You may also see there are 

 numerous ante. cubital nervures from whence we infer our specimen belongs to 

 the family Calopterygidse and to the genus Calopteryx. We notice further 

 that the wings are broad and deep blue, and the body also blue in colour, 

 this specimen is therefore a male. This other one we see has the body 

 metallic green and the wings a clear brown ; it belongs to the same species 

 as the other : one is the male and the other is the female of Calopteryx virgo. 

 There is a variety known as C. vesta, lighter in colour than the type. 



Another of these demoiselle dragonflies has narrow wings, deep blue or 

 black in the centre only, from whence it can be at once be distinguished from 

 C. virgo. It is known as C. splendens ; the colour of the body is the same as 

 in C. virgo. 



This other specimen is much smaller than Calopteryx virgo, and we see the 

 thorax is yellow and the abdomen green. It is the female of Platycnemis 

 pennipes ; the male is blue with a black band across the head between the 

 eyes, and two longitudinal black bands and two lateral ones on the thorax. 

 We see that the anti-cubital nervures of the wings of this species are two in 

 number, and it is the same in the genera Lestes, Agrion, &c, but all these 

 have legs with cylindrical instead of dilated tibiae as is the case in the genus 

 Platycnemis. Lestes nympha, and L. sponsa are both metallic green and have 

 the back of the head bronzed, wherein they differ from L. virens, which has 

 the head yellow. It occurs in the New Forest. 



Here is another little dragonfly which we recognise as Agrion puella. It 

 is the same size as Platycnemis pennipes, that is it expands an inch and four 

 lines. It has a dark thorax with blue lines, and the prothorax is divided 

 into three lobes, the abdomen is blue with bronze coloured spots, and we see 

 a forked-shaped one on the second segment. Our specimen is a male ; the 

 female has the abdomen bronze coloured with lighter spots at the joints. 

 There are several others belonging to this and the allied genera, but want of 

 time forbids their mention. A deep red coloured species is known as Pyrr- 

 hosoma minium, it is rather larger than Agrion puella ; the thorax is dark, 

 bronze with a red stripe on each side. Ischnura elegans has the thorax and 

 abdomen black, excepting the eighth segment of the latter, which is blue, and 

 the incisions which are yellow. 



But, however, we must now give up hunting dragonflies. Leaving the 

 stream behind us we cross a meadow, and then go through a wood, and per- 

 haps we may meet with Leuoophasia sinapis or Arge galathea. Here is a 



