9 2 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



[May, 



I will not discuss the reasons that have induced Sir John Lubbock 

 and others to separate the Thysanura from the Insecta, for, being ab- 

 solutely apterous, they would not come at all within the province of 

 the present paper, whether insects or not. 



The foregoing arrangement will show in some degree the extreme 

 variation in wing character, and there are very few orders indeed that 

 will not furnish some most extraordinary exceptions. We may take 

 as an example the first one on our list, the Neuroptera, the prevailing 

 characteristics of which meet with many curious aberrations. Their 

 pupae, which, for the greater part, are as nimble as their larvae, and 

 eat as much, show their rudimental wings in the shape of four leathery 

 plates. The perfect wings are, as in the case of Libellulidce or Dragon 

 Flies, covered with a most intricate network of nerves, enclosing a 

 large number of small cells. We should immediately infer, on seeing 

 the insect, that it is endowed with great powers of flight, deriving such 

 theory from the strength and size of the wings, a supposition ably 

 borne out by observation, the flight of the insect being graceful and 

 beautiful in the extreme. They seem proud of the powers with which 

 they are so abundantly supplied, and fully employ them in the ruthless 

 destruction of almost all other insects. 



The large, common Dragon Fly, Aishnia grandis, is a familiar object 

 to every vernal rambler, being particularly favourable to the roadside 

 hedgerows in the vicinity of some green and slimy pit. It seems to 

 have a regular beat, to which it will again and again return when 

 driven away, and may be observed to frequently disturb the family 

 harmony of a group of gnats, who have selected the projecting branch 

 of some twisted oak, as a highly suitable centre for their restless aerial 

 gyrations. One can almost hear the snap of his cruel jaws as he 

 swoops through the giddy crowd of flies, bearing one off as a trophy, 

 to be torn asunder and devoured. The creature seems to have a 

 marvellous facility for flying in all directions without turning, and 

 this is not one of the least curious phases in the habits of these strange 

 insects. When assuming the position of rest, the wings are expanded 

 to their utmost, never laid on its back, an accomplishment this species 

 is quite unable to acquire, though most of its congeners, such as the 

 Demoiselles or Agrionida:, are quite capable of closing the wings 

 together, in a position more consistent with the idea of repose. These 

 insects have been found 300 miles out at sea, which speaks highly for 

 their powers of endurance and flight. Their wings are sometimes of 

 the most resplendent hues, metallic green and purple ; at other times 

 suffused with a warm brown, or crossed with deep rich bands of the 



