These pupæ dash about the bottom of the pond, swimming or running, and eat almost everything that lives there. The body and head of the pupa are thicker than those of the grown-up dragon-fly. They are made for seizing and killing prey.
When it is nearly time for the pupa to come out as a dragon-fly, the case grows clearer, like glass. The large, beautiful eyes grow brighter and brighter, and the pupa leaves the deeper part and gets near the edge of the pond.
FOOTNOTES:
[21] See Seaside and Wayside, No. 3. Lessons on Fish.
LESSON XLIII.
A HAPPY CHANGE.
When the close of the pupa state draws near, the coming dragon-fly loses its fierce appetite. It seems to feel tired and heavy. It breathes slowly, as if it could not get air enough. The body has changed inside the horny case, and the time is near when it will leave the water for air, and walking for flying.
Once the larva wanted nothing better than to chase bugs about under water. Now, all at once, it longs for the free air and for the sun. It needs no one to tell it what to do. In some way it knows exactly how it should act.
This tired pupa now seeks the stem of some tall reed or grass that grows in the water. Slowly it crawls up the stem. The hooks on the feet take fast hold as it goes, and it keeps on until it is nearly a yard above water.