The Biology Of Dragonflies

Excerpt from The Biology of Dragonflies: Odonata or Paraneuroptera The principal object with which this volume has been written is to present as full and complete an account of the Biology of the Odonata as it is possible to offer in the present state of our knowledge of these insects. Thus the book is written primarily for biologists rather than systematists. More than ninety per cent. of the papers so far published on the Odonata have been chiefly systematic in their aim. The remainder are principally morphological, and form a valuable though somewhat small collection of facts on which a book of this kind must necessarily be based. During the last three years, I have fortunately been able to undertake a considerable amount of work on the internal anatomy of the Order, thereby not only confirming many points which were more or less in doubt, but also adding some new discoveries, and here and there rectifying errors. Most of this work has not yet been published, and will first see the light in the condensed form in which it appears in the present volume. It is hoped that the method of treatment followed in this book, by which the morphological, phylogenetic and physiological view-points have been correlated, in so far as our present knowledge allows, will enable students of the Odonata to take up any line of research on this interesting Order with a full knowledge of what has already been achieved. To this end, the Bibliography has been practically confined to those publications bearing on the biological study of the Order. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Dragonflies (Odonata), represented by over 6000 known species, are unique insects. In more than one feature they differ, at the very first glance, from all other insect superorders including their nearest allies, the mayflies (Ephemeropteroidea). The Zygoptera and Anisoptera, on the other hand, are the dominant groups. Being voracious predators in both immature (aquatic) and adult (aerial) stages they are important elements of all, except the drier (or high alpine) environments in temperate and tropical regions, occupying a position at the apex of the food chain of invertebrate life. Many dragonfly species are tested biological control agents for several disease-transmitting vector mosquitoes, especially Aedes species. They are also ideal organisms to be used as indicators of water pollution and contamination. Many species serve as intermediate hosts of fluke parasites of birds, and thus are important in the transmission of parasitic diseases, especially of domestic poultry and wild ducks. Because of their unique morphology and physiology, dragonflies are used extensively in the study of many biological phenomena. All these subjects are discussed in this unique book comprising twenty three articles written by expert odonatologists from different parts of the world. The book is written in a lucid and comprehensible language, and will likely be useful to both the professional and amateur alike.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.