39 



Handbook of Nature-Study 



leaf looks as if it were covered with spore cases of a glittering white mold. 

 This done she flies off and disports herself in the sunshine, care free, know- 

 ing that she has done all she can for her family. 



After a few days the eggs begin to look dark, and then if we examine 

 them with a lens, we may detect that they contain little doubled-up 

 creatures. The first we see of the egg inmate as it hatches, is a pair of 

 jaws thrust through the shell, opening it for a peep-hole; a little later the 

 owner of the jaws, after resting a while with an eye on the world which he 

 is so soon to enter, pushes out his head and legs and drags out a tiny, long 

 body, very callow-looking and clothed in long, soft hairs. At first the 



little creature crawls about 

 his egg-shell, clinging tightly 

 with all his six claws, as if 

 fearful of such a dizzy height 

 above his green floor; then 

 he squirms around a little and 

 thrusts out a head inquiringly 

 while still hanging on "for 

 dear life." Finally he gains 

 courage and prospects around 

 until he discovers his egg 

 stalk, and then begins a rope 

 climbing performance, rather 

 difficult for a little chap not 

 more than ten minutes old. 

 He takes a careful hold with 

 his front claws, the two other 

 pairs of legs carefully balanc- 

 ing for a second, and then 

 desperately seizing the stalk 

 with all his clasping claws, 



and with many new grips and panics, he finally achieves the bottom 

 in safety. As if dazed by his good luck, he stands still for a time, 

 trying to make up his mind what has happened and what to do next ; he 

 settles the matter by trotting off to make his first breakfast of aphids ; 

 and now we can see that it is a lucky thing for his brothers and sisters, 

 still unhatched, that they are high above his head and out of reach, for he 

 might not be discriminating in the matter of his breakfast food, never 

 having met any of his family before. He is a queer looking little insect, 

 spindle-shaped and with peculiarly long, sickle-shaped jaws projecting 

 from his head. Each of these jaws is made up of two pieces joined length- 

 wise so as to make a hollow tube, which has an opening at the tip of the 

 jaw, and another one at the base which leads directly to the little lion's 

 throat. Watch him as he catches an aphid; seizing the stupid little bag 

 of sap in his great pincers, he lifts it high in the air, as if drinking a 

 bumper, and sucks its green blood until it shrivels up, kicking a remon- 

 strating leg to the last. It is my conviction that aphids never realize 

 when they are being eaten ; they simply dimly wonder what is happening. 

 It takes a great many aphids to keep an aphis-lion nourished until he 

 gets his growth ; he grows like any other insect by shedding his skeleton 

 skin when it becomes too tight. Finally he doubles up and spins around 

 himself a cocoon of glistening white silk, leaving it fastened to the leaf; 



Aphis-lion, eggs, larva, cocoon and the 

 adult, lace wing. 

 Comstock's Manual. 



