BEHAVIOR OF THE ANT-LION. 



285 



ant-lion (Myrmeleon formicarius) says: "The house flies and other 

 small insects were usually dragged partially or wholly under the 

 sand, whilst blue-bottles and similar bulky creatures were feasted 

 upon on the surface." In his account of the feeding of the 

 common ant-lion of the east, McCook remarks: "The ants were 

 held off at 'arm's-length,' so to speak, and were thrashed and 

 jerked about until they were exhausted. Meanwhile efforts at 

 defence were made futile by the captor, who held its victim out 

 of reach of any vital part." Neither of these accounts tallies 

 exactly with my experience, although MacLachlan's can be har- 

 monized with it. I have watched ant-lions feed thousands of 

 times and have fed them with a variety of invertebrates. In 

 every case the larva has attempted to drag its captive beneath 

 the ground. In no case was the insect held off at arm's length 



Empty cocoon of ant-lion. 



as described by McCook. Often, a few moments after its capture, 

 all that would be visible of an ant were the 'tips of its waving 

 antennae, or the extremity of its wriggling abdomen, or both. 

 Naturally the captive struggled and squirmed; but there was no 

 attempt on the part of the ant-lion to hold its prey at arm's length 

 above the ground, while it thrashed it and jerked it. If the first 

 closing of the mandibles does not capture the creature that 



