Robert McLachlan and George Herbert Carpenter

“ These insects are pre-eminently lovers of the hottest sunshine (a few are somewhat crepuscular) , and the most powerful and daring on the wing in fine weather become inert and comparatively lifeless when at rest in dull weather, allowing themselves to be captured by the fingers without making any effort to escape. Many of the larger species (Aeschna, &c.) have a habit of affecting a particular twig or other resting place like a fly-catcher among birds, darting off after prey and making long excursions, but returning to the chosen spot. ”

“ Pairing.—But the most extraordinary feature in the economy—one which has attracted the attention of naturalists from remote times—is the position of the genital organs, and the corresponding anomalous manner in which the pairing of the sexes and impregnation is effected. ”

“ The male, when flying, seizes the prothorax of the female with the strong appendages at the extremity of the abdomen, and the abdomen of this latter sex is then curved upward so as to bring the under side of the eighth segment into contact with the organs of the second segment of the male. ”

“ A notice of fossil forms should not be concluded without the remark that indications of at least two species have been found in amber, a number disproportionately small if compared with other insects entombed therein; but it must be remembered that a dragon-fly is, as a rule, an insect of great power, and in all probability those then existing were able to extricate themselves if accidentally entangled in the resin. ”

“ In the Agrionidae both pairs are nearly equal, and are carried vertically and longitudinally in repose, and the neuration and membrane are less strong; hence the species of this family are not so powerful on the wing as are those of the other groups in which the wings are horizontally extended in a position ready for instant service. The neuration is peculiar, and in many respects without precise analogy in other groups of insects, but it is not necessary here to enter into more than some special points. ”

“ In colour these larvae are generally muddy, and they frequently have a coating of muddy particles, and hence are less likely to be observed by their victims. If among insects the perfect dragon-fly may be termed the tyrant of the air, so may its larva be styled that of the water. Aquatic insects and larvae form the principal food, but there can be no doubt that worms, the fry of fish, and even younger larvae of their own species, form part of the bill of fare. ”

“ In the more powerful Libellulidae, &c., the act is of short duration, and it is probable that polygamy and polyandry exist, for it possibly requires more than one almost momentary act to fertilize all the eggs in the ovaries of a female. ”

“ At probably about the antepenultimate of these operations, the rudimentary wings begin to appear as thoracic buddings, and in the full-grown nymph these wings overlap about one-half of the dorsal surface of the abdomen. In structure there is a certain amount of resemblance to the perfect insect, but the body is always much stouter and shorter, in some cases most disproportionately so, and the eyes are always separated ”

“ She hovers for a considerable time over nearly the same spot, rapidly dipping the apex of her abdomen into the water, or at any rate touching it, and often in places where there are no water-weeds, so that in all probability the eggs fall at once to the bottom. ”

“ The rest of the digestive apparatus consists of an elongate canal extending from mouth to anus, comprising the oesophagus, stomach and intestine, with certain dilatations and constrictions; the characteristic Malpighian vessels are stated to number about forty, placed round the posterior extremity of the stomach. Dragon-flies eat their prey completely, and do not content themselves by merely sucking its juices ”

“ The legs are shorter and more fitted for crawling about water plants and on the bottom. In the mouth parts the mandibles and maxillae are similar in form to those of the adult, but there is an extraordinary and unique modification of the lower lip. ”