Dragonflies New Naturalist Series no 41.<br />First edition

London: Collins, 1960. First edition, 1960. Hardback. xii, 260pp. Dust jacket in a protective sleeve. Dragonflies are an ideal group of insects for study. They are beautiful and fascinating creatures and, in spite of many environmental threats, many are still relatively straightforward to find. Moreover, the dragonfly's life is dramatically divided by sudden stages. Its immature stage is quite unlike the adult. Dragonfly larvae are almost all aquatic while the adults are all terrestrial. The adult stage often lasts less than a twentieth of the creature's whole life. This book is a useful history of British dragonflies and provides a thorough account of the native species. 54 colour photographs, 16 black & white photographs and over 200 maps and diagrams. Jacket design by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis. Book in very good condition. Slight soiling to upper edge of text block. Band of light toning to free endpapers. Internally clean and bright with just an occasional and very faint touch of spotting. Dust jacket very good and unclipped. Minor edge wear. Curved closed tear to lower edge of spine which has been carefully repaired with support to inner surface. Spine a little discoloured and some more widespread light discolouration and light spotting elsewhere to jacket.