86 



FAMILY MYRMELEONTID^. 

 (Ant Lions.) 



In this family, it is the larva that has earned the 

 name of ant lion, from the fact that its food consists 

 chiefly of ants, though from observation we have 

 concluded that caterpillars and flies are also eaten. 



To beginners the adult ant lion might be taken for 

 a kind of dragon-fly, but the abdomen is much 

 shorter and the body less strongly built than, at 

 least, the stronger dragon-flies. The flight, too, is 

 more awkward and sIoav — there is often a heavi- 

 ness about the flight of ant lions, such as Glenolcon 

 pulchelhis that is very characteristic. 



The wings are gauzy and beautiful — they may be 

 clear and with a metallic sheen, as in Myrmcleon 

 tiniseriatus, or they may be blotched as in Glcii- 

 leon pulchellus (Plate 13. Fig. 2). 



The antennae are fairly long, and often end in a 

 club or distinct rounded knob. 



The larva (Plate 13. Fig. 3) is predaceous, lying 

 in wait for its prey in the sand. Some species make 

 pits in the sand, and lie in wait at the bottom (Plate 

 13, Figs. 5 and 6), while other species make no pits 

 but lie in wait in the sand. Dr. R. J. Tillyard re- 

 cords "that out of 600 reared, four species were pit 

 formers, the other eight species being- non-pit form- 

 ers or predaceous wanderers in sand debris, etc." 



