Natural history of animals; . 332. — May Fly. ready for their final changes, the pupae crawl to thesurface, cast off the pupa skin, and appear at first tobe fully developed ; this is the sub-imago state; theythen fly with difficulty to the shore, affix themselvesto plants and trees, and cast off a very delicate cover-ing. After this the wings are brighter, and the tailslonger. May Flies appear in such immense swarmsin some parts of Europe, that the people collect theirdead bodies into heaps to enrich the land. They arecommon in this country. One of our species is shownin Figure 332. Dragon Fii
Natural history of animals; . 332. — May Fly. ready for their final changes, the pupae crawl to thesurface, cast off the pupa skin, and appear at first tobe fully developed ; this is the sub-imago state; theythen fly with difficulty to the shore, affix themselvesto plants and trees, and cast off a very delicate cover-ing. After this the wings are brighter, and the tailslonger. May Flies appear in such immense swarmsin some parts of Europe, that the people collect theirdead bodies into heaps to enrich the land. They arecommon in this country. One of our species is shownin Figure 332. Dragon Fiies, or Darning Needles. These Insects have a long body, large, lustrous, gauze-like wings, a large head, and very large eyes. They atonce arrest our attention by their large size, light andgraceful form, variegated colors, and the great veloc-ity with which they speed their way over fields and NET-NY [NGED I N SECTS. 9I meadows, or skim the surface of the pools or ponds insearch of flies, mosquitoes, and other insects, upon. Fig. 333- — Dragon Fly. which they feed. In the larva and pupa states theylive in the water, and are rather long, broad, and flat,with long, sprawling legs, and they crawl about, orpropel themselves by ejecting water from a cavitysituated at the hind part of their body. They are veryvoracious, devouring other insects and even one an-other. When the time comes for the last change, theycrawl up the stems of plants, and, having withdrawnfrom the pupa skin which remains clinging to theplant, and dried themselves, they spread their wingsand dart swiftly away. Though they bite fiercely withtheir jaws, they have no sting, and are harmless to man. Net-winged Insects, or The Horned Corydalus expands five or six inches,and the male has two long, horn-like pincers. 192 ARTHROPODS : INSECTS.
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1895
