THE HERDS OF THE YELLOW ANT. 



79 



elude them every now and then, and to lodge her fatal eggs on some 

 of the tender young aphides. 



Another implacable foe of these creatures is the larva of a neu- 

 ropterous insect which in its perfect or mature form resembles the 

 dragon fly. It is technically known as an aphis-lion, and differs very 

 widely in habits from the common and well-known ant-lions. The 

 last-mentioned grubs dig pits, at the bottoms of which they lie in 

 wait for and seize their prey whenever it falls therein; the aphidian 

 lion is, on the contrary, a bold and skillful hunter, and takes its prey 

 wherever it may find it. It is an ugly, heavy, slothful-looking grub, 

 yet it is remarkably agile. When darting upon its quarry (and it 

 hunts the winged aphides only), its thick, clumsy-looking legs move 

 with such rapidity that they can scarcely be seen. Its movements 

 as well as its shape are decidedly 

 lacertilian; in fact, when it is 

 seen coursing over the grape 

 leaves in pursuit of its prey, it re-? 

 minds one irresistibly of the bril- 

 liant little lizards which are to 

 be observed running here and 

 there over stone walls, fences, 

 and sunny woodland paths. This 

 creature stalks its prey like the 

 lycosids or hunting spiders, and 

 fairly bounds upon it when it 

 arrives within grasping distance. 

 Its catlike movements when 

 creeping up on its quarry are 

 wonderful to behold, and indi- 

 cate a very high degree of intel- 

 ligence. 



In color it is jet black; in 

 fact, in certain lights it glistens 

 like a jet jewel. It is about half 

 an inch long and one sixteenth 

 of an inch broad. On the mar- - 

 gins of its body, from its head 

 to its tail, are rows of thorn- 

 like spines. Its masticatory 

 organs, as well as its viscera, 



are much more highly developed than are those of ant-lions. It 

 is a brave little creature, and only succumbs to the ants (which 

 make war on it wherever they find it, thus showing that they are 

 fully aware of the fact that it is inimical to their herds) when life 



A Colony of Aphides. 



