T HE VARIOUS NAMES for 'dragonfly' that were found in the study resulting in part in Kurath's A Word Geography of the Eastern United States are both varied and colorful: darning needle, devil's darning needle, mosquito hawk, snake doctor, snake feeder, snake guarder, snake heeder, snake servant, snake waiter, and spindle. As these invariably appear in articles on dialects in both professional and popular magazines, the dragonfly has become a shibboleth for many. However, a student at Kansas State University, on seeing the above list of terms for 'dragonfly,' said, "Darning needle? Oh, no. To me, that's a praying mantis." Subsequent students made the same observation about other terms in the list. This article is the result of an inquiry into the referents of the various names cited for 'dragonfly.'