32 
SANTAEEM. 
Chap. I. 
allied to our English L. quadrimaeulata. But the 
resemblance was greater in the small, slender-bodied 
and slow-flying species, the Agrions, which every lover 
of rural walks must have noticed in England by river 
sides. There was one pretty kind with a pale blue ring 
at the tip of the body which resembled to a remark- 
able degree a common British species. Although very 
near akin, neither this nor any of the other kinds, were 
perfectly identical with European ones. The strikingly 
^ peculiar dragon-flies from Tropical America which are 
seen in our collections are denizens of the forest, being 
bred in the shady brooks and creeks in their recesses, 
and not in the weedy ponds of open places. Some of 
these forest species are strange creatures with slender 
bodies measuring seven inches in length ; their elegant 
lace-work wings tipped with white or yellow. They fly 
slowly amongst the trees, preying on small Diptera, 
and in their flight look like animated spindles ; the 
wings, placed at the fore extremity of the long, horizon- 
tally-extended body, moving rapidly and creating the 
impression of rotary motion. 
Whilst resting in the shade during the great heat of 
the early hours of afternoon, I used to find amuse- 
ment in watching the proceedings of the sand-wasps. 
A small pale green kind of Bembex (Bembex ciliata), 
was plentiful near the bay of Mapiri. When they are 
at work, a number of little jets of sand are seen shooting 
over the surface of the sloping bank. The little miners 
excavate with their fore feet, which are strongly built 
and furnished with a fringe of stiff bristles ; they work 
with wonderful rapidity, and the sand thrown out be- 
