STRUCTURE OF LARV^. 165 



supply the place of the muscles with which in the in- 

 sect it is am!)iy provided; but Merlin, or his suc- 

 cessor, has surmounted greater obstacles.'* 



The larvfE of tbe dragon-fly do not, however, 

 trust to this mask alone for surprising their prey, but 

 steal upon it, as De Geer observes, as a cat does 

 upon a bird, very slowly, and as if they counted their 

 steps; and then, by suddenly unmasking, seize it by 

 surprise: so artful are they tliat insecis, and even 

 small fishes, find it difficult to elude their attacks. | 



The larva of a very singular insect [Reduvius per- 

 sonahis, Fabr,), which preys upon the bed bug 

 {Cimex lectularius), not lieing furnished with a mask, 

 is at the pains to construct one, composed of dust, 

 particles o{' sand, fragments of wool or silk, and simi- 

 lar matter, which makes it a^^sume so very grotesque a 

 figure, that the animal would at first be taken for one 

 •of the ugliest spiders. Its awkward motions add not 

 a little to the eiiect of its odd appearance. It can, in- 

 deed, if it so chooses, move with considerable speed; 

 but for the purposes of successful hunting, it endea- 

 vours to assume the aspect of an inanimate substance, 

 and hitches along in the most leisurely manner possi- 

 ble. It only moves one leg at a time, and having set 

 one foot forward, it pauses a little before it brings up 

 the contiguous one, proceeding in the same way with 

 its other legs. It is no less carefully cautious in 

 moving its antennoe, striking, as it were, tirst with 

 one, and then, after a short pause, with the other. 

 By means of a camel's hair pencil, or a feather, it is 

 easy to unmask the insect, for, when touched, it usu- 

 ally abandons its covering. 



* Introd. to Ent. iii, 126. t De Geer, ii, 674. 



