Dragon Fly
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Dragon Fly. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
one of the most noticeable insects. Its wings look like woven threads of irridescent glass; its eyes like beads of gold. Also called mosquito hawk and devil's darning needle,--the former name from its habit of catching mosquitoes on the wing; the latter, from the elongated shape of its body. Two pairs of strong wings stand at right angles to the body and are seldom folded. This insect can fly backward and forward without turning--something no bird can do. Dragon flies are seen wherever there are mosquitoes to catch, but especially over meadows and stagnant water. The female lays her eggs on the surface of the water. The nymph (see article on INSECTS) is a fine swimmer and lives on such insects as it can catch until grown. It then climbs the stem of an aquatic plant, bursts its last nymph skin, and comes out a dragon fly, leaving the empty coat clinging to the plant. The dragon fly is perfectly harmless. Today I saw the dragon-fly Come from the wells where he did lie. An inner impulse rent the veil Of his old husk; from head to tail Came out clear plates of sapphire mail. He dried his wings: like gauze they grew; Through crofts and pastures wet with dew, A living flash of light he flew.--Tennyson.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a popular name given the to family of the tribe Subulicornia, in family Libellulidæ, the second which the hind wings are approximately of the acter which serves to distinguish them same size as the anterior, a charfrom the Ephemerida. Some 1,400 species have been described from all parts of the world. They are divided into three groups - Agrionides, Æschnidæ, and Libellulides, Æschna grandis, the great dragon fly, is nearly three inches long. ng. Libellula depressa is the stinger, an insect nearly two inches long horse and of a yellowish-brown color. DRAGON, GREEN, with spotted petioles and handsome lobed an araceous plant, leaves , and dark-colored fetid flowers, is common in Greece and other countries of southern Europe, and is occasionally to be seen in gardens. DRAGON MOUNTAINS. See DRAKEN-