libellulina

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. A group of pseudoneuropterous insects; the dragon-flies. A superfamily, same as Odonata, or as Libellulidæ in a broad sense, characterized by the long and more or less slender and cylindric abdomen ending in an anal armature, an enormous head and thorax, the former globular with immense eyes, the latter square with its tergal parts small and its flank pieces enlarged and rising up in front to take the place of the aborted prothorax. The antennæ are short and setiform, and the mouth is not provided with palps. The wings are large, long, and approximately equal in size and shape. The tarsi are trimerous, and the second abdominal segment of the male is furnished with accessory genitalia. Metamorphosis is incomplete; the larvæ are active, aquatic, and voracious; and the pupa resembles the larva. The Libellulina are composed of three families, named Libellulidæ, Agrionidæ, and Æschnidæ.