ing in the sunshine, a
swift, beautiful winged creature.

Towards the end of summer you will often see dragon flies darting about
in every direction.

They seem to come in swarms and I think they usually come where there
are ponds or marshes, for in such places there are many gnats and
mosquitoes.

Mollie wants to know why it would not be a good plan for people who live
where there are many mosquitoes to raise dragon flies?

That is a very sensible idea, Mollie, and it has been tried.

Yes, indeed; some men once collected dragon fly larvae, and took care of
them until they changed into dragon flies.

Then what do you think happened?

As soon as they got their wings, away went those dragon flies,--away
and away, without stopping to catch a single mosquito for the men who
had taken the trouble to raise them.

The dragon flies will not stay at home.

They fly so fast and so far there is no use raising them.

They are among the swiftest and strongest of insects.

How do the larvae get in the ponds? Frank is asking.

I will tell you what I know about it.

[Illustration]

The winged dragon flies mate, and the female then drops her eggs in the
water or lays them on twigs in the water, where they hatch out into
larvae.

The dragon flies have to be very careful when they go close to the water
to lay their eggs.

You all know why.

Yes, it is because the frogs are on the watch to catch them.

[Illustration]

The mother dragon fly knows the larvae have to live in the water, and so
she takes pains to put the eggs there; sometimes she even crawls down
under the water on stems of plants to lay her eggs. Isn't she a wise
little mother?

There are a good many species of dragon flies.

Some are large and some are small.

Some are bright and some are dull.

There are black ones and bright blue ones, or green ones with blue eyes.

Some are marked with red and yellow.

They are a very gay family.

The dragon fly family is also a very old one.

Indeed, it is one of the oldest families on earth.

Long before there were bees or butterflies or dogs or horses or human
beings, there were dragon flies.

Don't you suppose that may be why the dragon fly is such a
strange-looking insect?

It does not look like other insects; it is very old-fashioned, like the
pine trees.

Pine trees, too, belong to a very old plant family that lived long ago,
before there were oaks or maples, or other trees that shed their