8o 
ANIMAL ACTIVITIES. 
quitoes and other small insects, catching them on the 
wing with hawk-like flight and precision of aim. 
The dragon-flies belong to the pseudoneuroptera. 
By some they are put in a separate order, the odonata. 
Other Aquatic Insects. While collecting and 
observing the young dragon-flies one cannot help 
noticing the fact that many other insects spend a part 
Fig. 71.—The Growth of a May-fly. A , larva; B, pupa; C, imago. 
or the whole of their life in the water. It will be 
interesting to watch the young caddis-flies (Fig. 70), 
young may-flies (Fig. 71), the adult water-boatman 
swimming on his back with his legs modified to form 
oars (Fig. 72), the ditycus or large water-beetle carry¬ 
ing a bubble of air under his elytra and feathering his 
oars as he dashes through the water (Fig. 73), and 
the giant water-bug with powerful piercing beak and 
