84 LIFE STORIES OF AUSTRALIAN INSECTS. 



back and its body curved up, and the back legs taut. 

 In most cases it pushed off the white threads as it 

 poked them upwards among the aphid skins, but on 

 other occasions it was not successful, and brought 

 back small patches of the material on its arm-like 

 jaws, but this did not seem to trouble it, for it re- 

 sumed its work of pulling out more stuff and hoist- 

 ing it. This continued for about three-quarters of 

 an hour — with little rests in between — when it went 

 for a stroll, and then came back to resume its load- 

 ing up. 



It pupated, forming a little round cocoon about 

 the size of a very small pea — made of skins of 

 aphides — fulgorid-threads and silken threads with 

 which it wove the cocoon. The adult emerged three 

 weeks later, and outside the cocoon was the pupal 

 shell. (Plate 12, Fig. 5.) 



Edward Step thus describes the egg laying of 

 the Lace Wing: ''When about to lay eggs, the tip 

 of her hind-body is brought into contact with a leaf 

 or shoot she has selected, and a minute globule of 

 gum is attached. Then elevating her body to the 

 full extent possible the gum is drawn out to a thread 

 of gossamer, which hardens on exposure to air and 

 becomes stiff* enough to support the Qgg, which she 

 attaches to its extremity. In so doing she is doubt- 

 less taking precautions against her eggs being 

 eaten by some other insect, or it may be against 

 the grubs of her own kind, for they are all of a 

 voracious character and are not free from the im- 

 putation of cannibalism. 



It has been noticed that where the eggs are 



