The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-05-28
Our Olin.
About the Dragon Fly.
Correspondence Of the n. y. sun.

CHESTER, n. Y.-"Any one who in
the early summer or late i'll Il favorable
spring will look down into the depths OF
some quiet pool or reedy pond where he
can see the bottom" said an amateur
naturalist, "may observe many curious
forms of insect life-crseping things, dart
ing things, swimming things; big beetles,
armored like ships of war; fierce looking
worm like creatures and others 50 closely
resembling the centipede as TO startle one
who may see them for the first time. Many
of these hideous- looking things are the
larvae Of what later become beautiful and
familiar winged creatures, some that de-
light the eye all summer long and others
that sport in the sunbeams only a few
hours.
Zone among the formidable members
Of that subaqueous insect community will
particularly attract the eye of the observer.
1t will be Il broad -shouldered object, an
inch or 50 in length, and with big,
angular head and with bic, bril-
liant, bulsin" eye at each upper corner
Of that head From the lower corners OF
the head project pair of strong jaws with
an incurve like an elephant tusks. The
face of this singular looking denizen of the
pools bottom is covered by Il strange CON
trivance which resembles Il mask, and
which however curious the statement may
seem, is actually part of the creature :
under lip. The other part is folded up
and out of the way against the object :
abdomen, as will be demonstrated to the
observer if he remains long enough Il
watcher.
THE body of this unique thing is in
eight short segments, and tapers to a
point. To the edge Of each segment is at
tached a short, sharp spike. Six active
legs, three on side, hang from the in
sect shoulders From the tail project,
in ii cluster, five needle pointed spikes
which flare apart at the points, the bases
meeting around an aperture no larger than
the point of pin. The casual observer,
knowing these things, might naturally
think that with eyes at the upper corners
of its head, tusk like jaws at the lower
corners, an under lip that can be worn as
IA mask and stomacher at the same time,
any creature would be made fearfully and
wonderfully enough. But this one is a
much ADLER animal physically than all that
1T has inside itself pair of oxygen
extracting gills, not on the outside, as the
common place fishes wear theirs. Slowed
away also among its internal equipment it
has a suction pump and an ejecting valve
of very effective mechanism. The insect
is constantly pumping fresh water iRto
itself through the spike defended aperture
in its tail, extracting the oxygen by its in
terror gills, and then ejecting the exhaust
ed water through the same aperture. In
other words, this remarkable creature
breathes through its tail, and consequently
its tail must be also its nose. If
the insect be moment at rest in the
water, this aqueous inspiration and respi-
ration may be seen in the gentle working
of the pump and the ejector, drawing the
water in and forcing it out Brighten the
creature or let it see some prey it covets,
and it will shoot the stream of water out
out of its body through the tiny nozzle at
the tip of its tail with such force that the
stream will throw the insect forward rapid
ly sometimes foot or more When this
insect makes sudden rush of that kind
voluntarily, you may be sure that what
ever it has aimed at it gets its lip on.
eyes, gets its lip on That is right
Amazing as are the other appurtenances
of this curiously constructed aquatic PROV
Ter, they are but common place mechan-
ism compared with that under lip with
which it is further equipped. This lip is
folded up-or part of 1t is-against the
creature abdomen, something like car
penter' rule is made to fold. On its extrem-
ity is pair of nippers, sharp and strong.
just as the frog or toad launches It's mucil-
aginous tongue and pastes the inconsiderate
fly fast to it, without miss ever having
been scored, so does this we'll armed forager
of the weedy pool project its jointed under
lip against its selected prey, fasten the nip
pers deep upon it, and pull it up and de-
liver it to the tusk like jaws all SO quickly
that the prey is devoured almost before the
observer realizes what has been going on
That lip has frequently reach of an inch
and half or two inches-twice the length
of its owner
1.-The usual prey of this extraordinary
inhabitant of such waters is the juicy
larvae of beetles and of creatures that by
and by we will be calling flies These
swarm among the weeds at the bottom
have seen one of these big insects seize
with equal ferocity and success good sized
minnows that ventured within range Of
that unerring lip. Once saw one sci
Its nippers on the flank of a lusty young
frog that was swimming leisurely by ;
clump of weeds wherein this particular
marauder was lying in ambush. TIL.
heightened frog put on more steam anC
started for the surface of the pool. The
predatory and predacious owner of the Lip