Closely allied, and much commoner than the above insect, is _Cordulia Smithii_, found almost everywhere, its rapid and continuous flight frequently taking it many miles away from any water. The specimen figured is a male (Plate XV., fig. 2), the female possessing a pair of slender sickle-shaped hooks, attached to the end of her body. She may occasionally be seen depositing her eggs in stagnant streams, the abdomen being violently beaten against the surface of the water during the operation. I have not yet met with the larva, which probably lives concealed in the mud. One specimen, taken near Lake Wairarapa, is remarkable in possessing a cloudy brown patch near the tip of each wing, but it is no doubt only a variety of the ordinary insect. Family LIBELLULIDÆ. _Lestes colensonis_ (Plate XV., fig. 3, 3a larva). Extremely abundant in all damp situations from September till May, being one of the last insects to disappear in the autumn. The larva is found under stones, &c., in {105}every stream, feeding on various aquatic insects and crustaceans. When very young the wing-cases are scarcely discernible, but gradually become more distinct at each moult, until the larva assumes the form shown in the illustration (Fig. 3a), which is taken from a specimen about a week before the emergence of the perfect insect. In all these insects it would be much more convenient to regard the metamorphosis as consisting of only two stages, viz., larva and imago, as there is really no condition analogous to the quiescent pupa of other orders. The female is rather stouter than the male, which is the sex figured, and her abdomen is of a dull bronze colour, instead of metallic blue. The only other dragonfly found in my neighbourhood (Wellington) is the pretty little _Telebasis zealandica_ (Fig. 4), which occurs in similar situations to the last, but is not quite so common. The male is of a brilliant red colour, the female being bronzy green, but she may be readily distinguished from the same sex in _Lestes colensonis_ by her smaller size. The larva of this species is rather more attenuated than that of the previous insect, and is of course considerably smaller. Family EPHEMERIDÆ. _Ephemera_, n.s., near _Coloburus_[20] (Plate XVI., fig. 4, 4a larva). The well-known mayflies are very extensively represented in New Zealand, hovering in swarms over running water during the summer evenings.