1908] 
Miittloivski, Dragon Flics of Wif«-oihs}ii. 
59' 
on some stone or stick near the water-level to unroll and dry the 
wings before flying. Different species have different habits in 
effecting this change. Some are indiscriminative in choice of 
locality and well satisfied to complete the transformation wherever 
they emerge; others seek the solitude of dark wash-outs in the 
river-banks ; and again others climb into the shore-grass. The 
habits of the imago are varied ; some are retiring, staying near 
their larval habitat, others seek open fields, while still others fly 
in the rush and roar of rapids and waterfalls. The females lay 
the eggs usually by flying near the water-level, and dipping the 
tip of the abdomen into the water while in flight to deposit an 
egg. In the case of some genera the males accompany the females. 
In quiet places the eggs remain clustered, while in more turbulent 
waters, they are scattered widely by the force of the currents. 
Like the nymph, the adult dragon-fly is predatory, and the 
whole form of the imago is adapted to this form of life. The 
peculiarly unbalanced appearance of the body, the thorax sloping 
forward and behind, with the slanted wings on the rear slope, the 
position of the legs near the forward edge of the thorax, are all 
splendidly adapted for the seizure and holding of the pre}-. 
RELATION TO LIFE ZONES. In Wisconsin the south- 
eastern and southwestern parts are comparatively low in altitude, 
and the character of its life temperate — Upper Austral. The 
southern part of the state in its middle portions is transitional in 
character, due to higher elevation, and the central part is occupied 
by a great basin lower than the south-eastern counties, but transi- 
tional in character. From this basin the state is gradually elevated 
north to the Penokee and Iron ranges, all this area occupied by 
transition forms. North of this natural water-shed the charac- 
ter of life assumes a boreal aspect, due to higher latitude and in- 
creased altitude. Thus the state is separated into three distinct 
life zones: temperate — Upper Austral, near-boreal (partly tern- 
