THE NERVE-WINGED INSECTS 



93 



gold, from which they are sometimes called golden-eyes. The larvae 

 feed not only upon plant-lice, but upon any soft-bodied insects which 



\ 



they can overpower, or on soft insect eggs, and 

 will not infrequently attack their own species. 

 The adults seem fullv aware of these canni- 



j 



balistic tastes, for they lay the little white eggs 

 on stalks about half an inch high, placing them 

 out of the reach of the larvae. 



In the undisturbed dust beneath an old shed, 

 or beneath cliffs, or along warm banks, one 

 will frequently find the little funnel-shaped 

 of the ant-lions (Myrmeleonidae), some- 



times locally known as ' doodle bugs." At 



A scorpion- 

 mfescens}. 



(Twice natural size) ^ Bottom of the pit may be seen two out- 



stretched jaws awaiting any unwary insect 

 which may slide down the crumbling sides. The larvae are not 

 unlike those of the aphis-lions in general appearance, but have a 

 larger abdomen and a small thorax and slender legs. The adults are 

 dusky-colored, with long, narrow, delicate wings. They are poor 

 fliers and are often attracted to lights (Fig. 1 16). 



The scorpion-flies (order Mecopterd) are readily distinguished by 

 the long head, which is prolonged into a beak, at the end of which 

 are the biting mouth-parts. They receive their common name 

 ' scorpion-flies ' from 

 the terminal segment 

 of the males of the 

 most common forms, 

 which is enlarged and 

 bears clasping organs, 

 so that it looks like the 

 fang at the tip of the 

 body of a scorpion. They are entirely harmless, however, being car- 

 nivorous both as adults and as larvae. The adults are most commonly 

 found on foliage in shady places, though they not infrequently fly into 

 lights, while the larvae look much like caterpillars and live in the soil. 

 The caddis-flies (order Trichopterd) l have wings with but few cross 

 veins but more or less densely clothed with hairs, thus being related 



1 From thrix (a hair) and//*?;w/ (a wing). 



FIG. 119. Scorpion-fly larva (Panorpa sp.). (Three 

 times natural size) 



(After Felt, from Kellogg) 



