AN AMBUSHED BANDIT. 



Every country boy knows that while many insects feed upon 

 the leaves and fruits of plants, there are some which feed upon 

 other insects. Sometimes they roam about in search of prey, 

 and sometimes they lie in wait in cunningly devised traps to 

 ensnare their victims. 



Of those having the latter habit perhaps none is more curious 

 than the ant-lion (Fig. 27), an insect which gets its name 

 because it feeds on ants. Should you see one of these ant- 

 lions on a table or other smooth surface, you would think it 

 one of the clumsiest creatures you ever saw. It is 

 so slow and awkward in its movements that one 

 would think it doomed to starve if its living 

 depends on catching ants. 



But if you will put the ant-lion upon the surface 

 of a loose sandy soil you will soon find that it is 

 able to take care of itself. It has a method of its own that 

 enables it to get a living in spite of its clumsiness. 



Soon after you put the ant-lion on the ground you will see 

 it begin to dig a hole. " How can it dig," you ask, "without 

 shovel or spade ? " Look and see the flattened head which the 

 creature works beneath some of the sandy soil. Then see the 

 head jerked suddenly upward, so that the sand on top of it is 

 sent flying some distance away. The insect is no mean shov- 

 eler, and before long it excavates in this curious way a cone- 

 shaped pit an inch or more in depth and as steep as the sand 

 will lie (Figs. 28 and 29). 



When this strange pitfall is finished, the ant-lion buries 

 itself in the sand at the bottom. The body is concealed, except 

 part of the head and the immense jaws, which are spread wide 



28 



