ANT LIONS. 89 



free progress being- aided by the shape of its body. 

 At last it had formed a funnel shaped hole 2| inches 

 wide, and i| inches deep. 



No. 2 did not make a circle, but simply backed 

 underground and made a pit similar to that of No. i. 



No. 3 at once went underground, but did not 

 make a pit that evening. By the morning the 

 funnel-shaped pit was there. 



'Each little trapper was ready lying in wait at 

 the bottom of its pit with only its head and jaws 

 above the sand, or more usually with nothing show- 

 ing at all. 



Its jaws are wonderfully made to suit its habits. 

 The typical biting and chewing jaws of the cater- 

 pillar are modified to form a pair of long curved 

 jaws, with mandibles and maxillae combining to 

 form a pair of sucking-tubes. These jaws seize the 

 prey, and suck up the juices from the body of the 

 victim. 



For a few days we captured ants and fed them, 

 but later on placed the bowl outside near a vine 

 frequented by ants. A piece of glass was put on 

 the top of the bowl in such a way as to allow the 

 ants to enter, and yet to protect the larvae from 

 the rain. Moist sugar was placed on the top of the 

 glass to attract the ants. They came in hundreds, 

 often forming a black mass over the glass. Many 

 ran down over the sand. The ant lion larvae thus got 

 a good food supply. It was wonderfully interest- 

 ing to note how these larvae held their victims, and 

 thrashed and jerked them about until they were ex- 

 hausted, for efiforts of defence on the part of the 



