ANT-LIONS 455 



remarkable habits of their larvae attracted the attention of natur- 

 alists so long ago as two hundred years. We owe to Reaumur an 

 accurate and interesting account of M. formicarius, the species 

 found in the neighbourhood of Paris. The larvae are predaceous, 

 and secure their prey by means of pitfalls they excavate in the 

 earth, and at the bottom of which they bury themselves, leaving 

 only their elongate jaws projecting out of the sand at the bottom 

 of the pit. They move only backwards, and in forming their pit 

 use their broad body as a plough, and throw out the sand by 

 placing it on the head and then sending it to a distance with a 

 sudden jerk. When about to construct its trap the larva does 

 not commence at the centre, but makes first a circular groove of 

 the full circumference of the future pit. Burying its abdomen 

 in the surface of the earth, the Insect collects on to its head, by 

 means of the front leg, the sand from the side which is nearest to the 

 centre, and then jerks the sand to a distance. By making a second 

 circuit within the first one, and then another, the soil is gradu- 

 ally removed, and a conical pit is formed, at the bottom of which 

 the ant-lion lurks, burying its body but leaving its formidable 

 mandibles widely extended and projecting from the sand. In this 

 position the young ant-lion waits patiently till some wandering 

 Insect trespasses on its domains. An ant or fly coming over the 

 edge of the pitfall finds the sand of the sloping sides yielding beneath 

 its body, and in its effort to secure itself probably dislodges some 

 more of the sand, which, descending to the bottom of the pit, brings 

 the lurking lion into activity. Availing himself of his power of 

 throwing sand with his head, the ant-lion jerks some in the 

 neighbourhood of the trespasser, and continues to do so until the 

 victim is brought to the bottom of the pit and into the very jaws 

 of its destroyer ; then there is no further hope of escape ; the 

 mandibles close, empale their prey, and do not relax their hold 

 till the body of the victim is exhausted of its juices. The position 

 chosen is in a place that will keep dry, as the larva cannot carry 

 on its operations when the sand is wet or damp, hence the soil at 

 the base of a high wall or a rock frequently harbours these 

 Insects. The parts of the mouth of the Myrmeleon are perfectly 

 adapted for enabling it to empty the victim without for a 

 moment relaxing its hold. There is no mouth-orifice of the 

 usual character, and the contents of the victim are brought 

 into the buccal cavity by means of a groove extending along 



