The Portland daily press., 1899-07-25

ference was drawn by ignolant relatives
OF Uncle Remus that the flies were trying
TO restore the defunct ferpent to life.
But Is Is probable that they were merely
attracted by the odor of carrion, and
would have gone to dead rabbit quite as
soon. just what Is the origin Of the term
'damsel by' does not clearly appear. But
the dragon fly is deservedly called q
mosquito hawk" because he is particu-
larry fond of mosquitoes, ana in the
course OF a summer eats up an almost in
calculable number Of them. 1t will thus
be perceived that the insect under discus
sion oonfers great benefits upon human
society. and Is to be regarded not merely
as an innocent creature, but as public
benefRotor.
JOY forever" as the late MIR. Keats re.
marked And the delioately reticlulated,
irridescent wings, often spanning dis
lance OF four inches, are exceedingly at
tractive. Sometimes the gauzy men,
branes have orange or yellow markings In
| addition 90 their blues and greens that
rival in brilliancy the butterfly.
1t has been alleged that the dragon fly
| Is terribly yoraoiouH. But this il fault
which no normally constituted boy Will
regard as serious one. On the other
hand, 1t shows vigorous digestion and
| good state of general health. And as the
grsgon fly never steals anything out of
peoples pantriee, bus goss hunting for.
bis prey, he gets his meals in a Thoroughly
honest manner. 1t Is impossible TO count
the courses OF some of his repasts. He
Will eat several mosquitoes in rapid sue
cessioD, capture spider or two for varie-
ty and tackle q oentipede almost as big as
himself. After this, without even wait.
| Ing to wipe his mouth, he will start out
on fresh raid, and within o few minutes
| will swallow three or four times as much
| food as he has just INDUCED in. One Ia
puzzled to know where he slows it all.
he is never SO happy as on rather
gusty summer day. The wind botners
NEST other insects, and they hutter and
vacillate helplessiy in the atmospheric
eddiss In which they are caught. Thus
| they become easy Frey for the strong
| winged, energetic dragon fly. There is
| something exceptional In his propelling
apparatus, too. When Mr. Parsons first
turned out his swift Turbinia his engines
would not reverse. They would only go
ahead or else stop. Afterward the clever
inventor remsdied this defect. Now,
whether or not Libeilula tri. maculata
| ever made any such blunder It Is impussi,
BILE to say. Packard, Co:lstook, MurtfelR
and even that well-inforIued expert Dis
| Southwick of Central park uro silent OF
| this point. But however that may be az
regards the past, it is certain that the
| dragon fly now has reversing engines and
can not only stop on short notice, but can
back out OF a corner with astonishing
| ease.
Here's another odd thing about him:
bis mouth is built on very original de-
| signs. his lower lip Is thick aud devel-
| oped to remarkable siZs. When. as oc-
easionaily happens. the dragon fly is not
| engaged in his fRvorite occupation of eat
ing, that lower lip comes up and serves
as mask for pretty much all of what
may be- called his face. You'd never sus.
| pect what ferocious rst-trap he has con-
| cealed in back of that maxi. But VIII en-
he oyertakes IA mosquito on the wing he
drops that lip, discloses fearful pair of
toothed jaws that open. sidewise instead Of
| up and down, and then claps them togeth-
er with amazing facility. 1t is not pre-.
| tended by even the most enthusi1 stic adj
mirers OF the dragon fly that his mouth
| is an attractive one TO look at, but what
| 1t lacks In beauty 1t makes up in utility.
Tbs female dragon lily has two ways of
laying her eggs. but in both cases leaves
| them In the water, Sometimes she goes
| skmming the surface of poEd, occits.
ionally dipping the ourled tip sof her alb
| aomen into the fluid. 1s is probably that
under such circumstances only. few eggs
are laid ct time. But she may also be
seen clinging TO the stem of an aquatic
plant with most OF, her body out of water,
but with the extremity immersed. She
| then deposits from a dozen TO "a hundred
| eggs in a clnster ana CLUES them to the
stalk on which she is supporting herself
have seen the Agrions so completely I'M
der water to lay their eggs and remain
there considerable time. Or a hot sum-
mer's day this must be rather comfort
able place to stay, but it is hard to I'M
derstand how the fly breathes in the
msantime, and also how she wipes the
| moisture off her wings ON emerging.
Perhaps she does not know enough to use
q bath towel, and relies on the sunshine
| instead.
The difference between the short water
bug which IL Matched from such an egg
and the mature dragon fly is not so great
as that between a caterpillar and hut
terfiy. The metamorphosis is less stik-
ing. The nymph as entomologists call
the impsrfectly developed insect, is a
predatory creature and spends most of the
earlier portion Of its career under water.
BUT when 1t gets ready for the last of the
moulting operations through which IL
goes IL unfolds body OF much greater
length than would be expected by an
uninltiated observer. The wings now for
the first time expand. Up to this moment
they have never opened. and have hen
rudimentary affairs packed away in wing
cases.