208 Bulletin Wisconsin Natural History Society [Vol. 13, No. 4 
deposit their eggs while on the wing. The damsel flies are not so 
active. Some of them rest a large part of the time, clinging to 
the stems or leaves close to the shore. 
Many of the Odonata after capturing their prey perch them- 
selves upon a dead reed where they devour it at their leisure. 
Each chooses one particular station, and returns to this after 
every forage. Aeschna constricta , Anax junius, and Libellula pul- 
chella choose the tops of the reeds far out in the marsh. Amphia- 
grion saucium and Sympetrum rubicundulum seek those nearer 
shore, and instead of resting at the end of a stalk would perch 
themselves a little way down. The damsel flies choose the reeds 
near shore and cling to them at least a third of the way down the 
stem. We find the smaller damsel flies hovering about near the 
shore, half hidden by the grasses and reeds; the larger damsel 
flies a little higher; the small dragon flies about a foot above the 
tops of the reeds; while the larger species have for their hunting 
ground the entire marsh. 
May-flies or mosquitoes seldom escaped capture by the larger 
predators. Only one May-fly, Hexagenia limbata, and one mos- 
quito were seen during July on the area under observation, al- 
though such insects were present in great numbers in other parts 
of the lake where the dragon flies were less numerous. 
The mating of the Odonata is very interesting. When the sun 
is hottest they fly the fastest, in great curves, short darts, or zig- 
zag lines. Often several males pursue the same female. When 
one succeeds in capturing her, he curves the tip of his abdomen 
around beneath that of hers, and often remains in this position 
while she deposits her eggs. Aeschna bores holes along the ridges 
in the “burr grass,” and deposits her eggs one by one. Anax 
junius deposits its eggs in the reeds under the water. Others 
simply touch the surface from time to time with the tip of 
their abdomen. Many of the damsel flies deposit their eggs on 
submerged reeds where they hatch out in a couple of days into 
larvae which float along the surface. 
By five o’clock in the afternoon most of the dragon and damsel 
flies had taken up their posts for the night among the reeds where 
they had been most active during the day. Some of them, how- 
ever, Amphiagrion saucium in particular, flew back from the bog 
and slept in the timothy grass along the road side. That these 
