THE APfflS LION. 



Did you ever see some little threads with knobs on their 

 tips sticking up from the surface of a twig or leaf ? They look 

 like Fig. 45, and may readily be found during 

 summer upon a great variety of plants. 



If you look at the threads closely, you will find 



that the knobs are white and nearly egg-shaped. 



Under a hand lens you will see that the egg- 



^^enfarge/^^' sliapcd bodics differ from the threads upon the 



ends of which they are fastened. 



These white knobs are the eggs of a pretty four-winged 



insect called the golden-eye, or lace-winged fly. The threads 



are simply stalks which hold them up above the surface out of 



the reach of ladybird beetles and other insects that eat such eggs. 



Should you be able to watch one of these groups of knobbed 



threads for some time, you would be likely to see a curious 



little larva hatch from each of the eggs. The time of hatching 



is likely to vary, some emerging from the eggs much earlier 



than others. 



The larvcB which have thus been cradled ifi the air are called 

 aphis lions, from their habit of feeding upon aphides or plant 

 lice. Soon after hatching, they wander over the plant in search 

 of prey. Almost any small insect will answer for this purpose, 

 but plant lice form the principal item in the daily bill of fare. 

 Each aphis lion has a large pair of jaws projecting forward 

 from the head. These jaws are so constructed that each is a 

 hollow sucking tube, through which the life-blood of the vic- 

 tim is drawn, as well as an organ for seizing and piercing the 

 prey. 



46 



