. The biology of dragonflies (Odonata or Paraneuroptera). Dragon-flies. 330 BIONOMICS, ETC. [CH. usually leave the ground. Lizards and snakes are, curiously enough, expert at catching Dragonflies. I once saw Diphlebia lestoides alight upon the tail of a lizard which was sunning itself on a rock. The lizard caught it, by a stroke as quick as lightning! Birds frequently attack Dragonflies; but, as far as my observations go. seldom succeed in catching them. The kingfishers are an exception, as they are wonderfully expert at catch- ing Dragonflies skimming close to the water. The most deadly enemy
. The biology of dragonflies (Odonata or Paraneuroptera). Dragon-flies. 330 BIONOMICS, ETC. [CH. usually leave the ground. Lizards and snakes are, curiously enough, expert at catching Dragonflies. I once saw Diphlebia lestoides alight upon the tail of a lizard which was sunning itself on a rock. The lizard caught it, by a stroke as quick as lightning! Birds frequently attack Dragonflies; but, as far as my observations go. seldom succeed in catching them. The kingfishers are an exception, as they are wonderfully expert at catch- ing Dragonflies skimming close to the water. The most deadly enemy of all is the trout. In Tasmania, the intro- duction of the English trout has reduced the Odonate fauna of the rivers to a minimum. A 2-lb. trout which I caught on the Macquarie River in Tasmania had in its stomach the undigested heads of thirty-five Dragonflies, twentv-eight belonging to Fi?- 167. Austwlesies analis ,, ,, " . -r, 7 7- Ramb., -?. and a number of the rather rare species Frocordulia smaller insect?. captured by Drosera binata Labill. ( x §). Original drawing by P. Tillyard. jacksoniensis. There were also the remains of one beetle. The trout is also an enemy of the larvae, especially of those Libellulidae which live on the bottom of slowly moving rivers. The voracious larva of the beetle Dytiscus frequently attacks Dragonfly larvae. But the latter has no enemy to compare with his own near relatives, if they happen to be of a somewhat larger size. Parasites (figs. 168, 169). These may be divided into true parasites and false parasites. Of the former, the best known are the tiny Hymenoptera of the families Tetragrammidae and Mymaridae, or "fairy ; Three species {Anagrus incarnatus, Polynema ovulorum and P. natans) have been described as laying their eggs within the eggs of Calofteryx. The grub hatches out and feeds on the contents. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for re
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